Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun (deputy chief prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office) on the 17th said that, regarding the National Assembly's "parliamentary inquiry into the truth of alleged politically motivated fabricated indictments by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration," the remaining inquiry period needs to proceed fairly and objectively. The point is that a parliamentary inquiry into cases that are on trial should not be seen as trying to influence the trials.
Meeting reporters in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, that day, Acting Chief Koo said, "No parliamentary inquiry should be evaluated as trying to influence a trial," and added, "I earnestly ask once again that, in the remaining period, this parliamentary inquiry be conducted fairly and objectively."
Koo said that at the first agency briefing on the 3rd, he had also conveyed concerns that this parliamentary inquiry targets cases that are on trial, and stated that testimony by prosecutors in charge should be kept to the minimum necessary under the law and principles. However, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, in the subsequent process many prosecutors and investigators in charge ended up taking the stand, some were not sufficiently guaranteed opportunities to answer, and there were even personal attacks.
In a separate statement, Acting Chief Koo also requested the withdrawal of witness selections for line prosecutors and investigators who were involved in the investigation and maintaining the indictments at the time. He also stated that, even if summonses are unavoidable, the process should be carried out cautiously and with restraint in light of potential impacts on the trials.
Article 8 of the Act on the Inspection and Investigation of State Administration stipulates that a parliamentary inquiry must not be conducted for the purpose of intervening in ongoing trials or the prosecution of cases currently under investigation. Because the SSANGBANGWOOL North Korea remittances case, the Daejang-dong case, and the Kim Yong case, which are included among the subjects of this parliamentary inquiry, are currently on trial, debates over unconstitutionality and illegality have been raised since the stage when the National Assembly processed the plan.
Regarding the recent incident in which a prosecutor known as the so-called "Daejang-dong prosecutor" faced a threat to personal safety, Acting Chief Koo said, "I received the news with a devastated heart," and added, "Recovery and well-being must be the top priority." The prosecutor worked on the second Daejang-dong investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office from 2022 to early 2023 and, after receiving a request to appear as a witness from the special committee for the parliamentary inquiry, is reportedly currently being treated at a hospital.
Citing health reasons, the prosecutor submitted a written statement explaining his absence on the 13th, saying it would be difficult to appear at the hearing, but when the prosecutor did not appear at the hearing on the Daejang-dong development corruption case, the special committee for the parliamentary inquiry issued a warrant of accompaniment. Within the prosecution, there was also criticism that the leadership's response was inadequate.
On the prosecution's internal network that day, Prosecutor Gong Bong-sook of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office posted a message aimed at the prosecution leadership, saying, "If you represent the organization, don't say, 'It's so intimidating, what do you expect us to do?' Try to handle it appropriately."