Lawmakers including Park Sung-joon, floor administrator of the Democratic Party of Korea on the National Assembly's Special Committee for a Parliamentary Probe into the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's alleged politically motivated prosecutorial fabrication of indictments, visit the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 9th to verify the "salmon drinking party" and "witness coercion allegations," and conduct an on-site reenactment at a nearby convenience store, citing the claim that "an SSANGBANGWOOL employee bought soju and poured it into a water bottle." Regarding the allegations, former SSANGBANGWOOL Chairman Kim Seong-tae appears at the National Assembly on the 28th and denies the Democratic Party's "salmon drinking party" claim, saying, "I did not drink alcohol." /Courtesy of Yonhap News

The Ministry of Justice, at the direction of Minister Jung Sung-ho, decided to establish an independent external committee (tentatively named the "Prosecution Human Rights Respect Future Committee") to verify the facts regarding cases of human rights violations and abuse of authority that occurred during the prosecution's investigation and indictment processes.

The newly established committee is expected to verify the facts behind several allegations raised in the National Assembly's "parliamentary inquiry into fact-finding on the alleged fabricated indictments by political prosecutors under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration."

Earlier, in September last year, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, under the direction of the Minister, set up a human rights violation inspection task force (TF) at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office and has conducted its own investigation into suspected abuses of prosecutorial authority.

The Ministry of Justice said the TF was "insufficient to dispel the suspicions held by the public," adding, "With new facts revealed during the parliamentary inquiry, additional suspicions have been raised, and many in the public still harbor deep doubts about the legality and appropriateness of the investigation process at the time."

Former SSANGBANGWOOL Chairman Kim Seong-tae answers lawmakers' questions during a general hearing at the 11th full meeting of the National Assembly's Special Committee for a Parliamentary Probe into the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's alleged politically motivated prosecutorial fabrication of indictments on the 28th. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

The committee will be composed of external Commissioners. The committee will select cases that have sparked public suspicion during the prosecution's investigation and indictment processes and devise a plan to form an investigative body for the target cases so related suspicions raised during the performance of prosecutorial duties can be independently examined. It will also receive the investigation results and, if human rights violations or abuses of authority are confirmed, recommend follow-up measures to the Minister to prevent recurrence.

The Ministry of Justice said it "takes seriously the criticisms and reprimands presented during the agency reports, on-site inspections, and hearings of this parliamentary inquiry," adding, "We will systematically review and correct the prosecution's past wrongful investigative practices and errors."

The Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to introduce an independent counsel to investigate the allegations raised in the parliamentary inquiry.

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