Prosecutors are summoned… 7 hour marathon meeting… Bae Bae-jin a day before ‘Swordsmanship and Armed Arms’
Democratic Party “檢, not a place for political activities”… Transition Committee “Democracy shakes the foundation of the judicial system”
Kim Oh-su – Prosecutors’ chiefs oppose prosecuting refusal, “I don’t have a relationship with the old man”
On the 11th, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-su said, “If the prosecutor’s investigation function is abolished, there will be no meaning in carrying out my duties any longer as prosecutor-general.” He hit Bae Bae by announcing his ‘conditional resignation’ one day before the general meeting of the House of Representatives, which decides whether the Democratic Party will go ahead with legislation.
At the meeting of the chiefs of the national prosecutors’ office at 10 a.m. on the same day, President Kim said, “I will not be directly involved. I will not shy away from any responsibility,” he said. He also said, “The institutional ban on prosecution investigations is unprecedented in advanced legal systems. (Once the investigative power is deprived), it can no longer be called the prosecution under our constitution.”
As internal opposition from the prosecution to the Democratic Party’s legislative move grew stronger, even the theory of responsibility for the leadership emerged, it is understood that the government announced a tough response policy. An official from the prosecution said, “I was worried that President Kim would go down in history as the ‘worst president in history who failed to protect the prosecution’.”
After a meeting for 7 hours until around 5 pm on this day, 18 chiefs of the district prosecutor’s office said, “If the prosecution’s investigation function is abolished without sufficient discussion or specific alternatives, the damage will go to the people and the significance of the prosecution’s existence will disappear.” Please form a special committee to improve the judicial system, so that the broad opinions of experts and the public from various fields can be sufficiently gathered.”
Opposition to the oversight bill is spreading throughout the legal community. In a statement on the same day, the Korean Society of Criminal Procedure Law expressed serious concern that the revision of the law, which shakes the foundation of the criminal law system, is being rushed forward. Such a fundamental revision of the law must be preceded by serious research, debate and national consensus.”
On the other hand, Democratic Party Emergency Response Committee Chairman Yun Ho-jung said at a non-commissioning meeting that day, “The prosecution is a place to protect social justice, not a place to conduct political activities. The ‘prosecution reform’ that the National Assembly is trying to discuss is to make the prosecutors with these vested rights and privileges into normal prosecutors.” In response, floor leader Kwon Seong-dong of People’s Power responded, “To deal with the issue of the judicial system, a task force (TF) or special committee between the opposition and the opposition should be formed to have serious discussions and receive expert opinions to deal with it.”
The Presidential Transition Committee, who was reluctant to speak, also joined the discussion. Won Il-hee, senior deputy spokesperson for the transition committee, said on the same day, “The public is very concerned that the Democratic Party is trying to unilaterally handle a serious matter that shakes the foundation of the Korean judicial system.”
All 18 of the chief prosecutors oppose the ‘check-out’… “The damage will go to the people.”
Kim Oh-soo – Prosecutors’ chiefs “I don’t have a relationship”
檢 Executives are willing to resign when the law is enforced… The pro-government pro-government prosecutor did not have any disagreements
To the National Assembly, “Expert-People’s Opinion Gathering… Proposal of a special committee to improve the criminal justice system
Park Bum-gye “I’m not in my position to play the role”
“It is a common and unanimous position that the chief prosecutors are not tied to their positions.”
At 10 am on the 11th, at the National Prosecutor’s Office meeting held at the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-su as well as the prosecutors across the country made a ‘conditional resignation’. Accordingly, if the Democratic Party of Korea decides to enforce the so-called ‘completely deprived of the prosecution’s investigative powers’ at the general assembly of the House of Representatives on the 12th, the wave of resignation from high-ranking prosecutors cannot be ruled out.
○ Prosecutors’ chiefs “We are not directly related”
National Prosecutors’ Meeting On the 11th, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo and the chiefs of the Prosecutors’ Office held a meeting of the chief prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and discussed countermeasures to the Democratic Party’s ‘removal of prosecution’ (completely stripping the prosecution’s investigative power). After the meeting, the chiefs of the district prosecutor’s office made it clear that they opposed the inspection, saying, “The significance of the existence of the prosecution will disappear and damage will come to the people.” Reporter Jeon Young-han scoopjyh@donga.comOn that day, the marathon meeting was held from 10 am to 5 pm with all 18 prosecutors (18 people) from the local prosecutors’ offices nationwide. It was conducted in such a way that President Kim’s all remarks were started, and each prosecutor took turns expressing their opinions. “There was also an argument that the Democratic Party was suddenly pushing ahead with the inspection because of the Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office’s investigation into the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s blacklist,” said a prosecutor.
The chiefs of the district prosecutor’s office agreed that if problems such as delays in investigation were not resolved as a result of the adjustment of the police and police investigation authority, which took effect in January last year, if the inspection was carried out completely, the harm would be great. In a statement distributed following the meeting, they said, “If a bill to abolish the prosecution’s investigation function is rushed forward without public consensus and procedural justification without sufficient discussion or concrete alternatives, the damage will be done to the people.” .
Accordingly, the chiefs of the district prosecutor’s office proposed the formation of a ‘special committee on the improvement of the criminal justice system’ in the National Assembly as an alternative to pushing ahead with the inspection. They said, “I earnestly appeal to you to come up with a rational improvement plan following gathering and discussing a wide range of opinions from experts and the public on various issues surrounding the criminal justice system.”
Shim Jae-cheol, the chief of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, and Lee Jong-geun, the chief of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, also attended the meeting. Daegu District Prosecutor’s Office Chief Kim Hu-gon, who was in charge of the presentation of the meeting, said, “There were various opinions, but there was no conflict of opinion. It is a common perception of all prosecutors that there is a problem (with the Democratic Party bill).” Prosecutor Kim also countered the criticism that ‘collective action was excessive’, saying, “The expression of collective protest itself is rather different from the essence of this issue.
○ ‘Democratic Party-Prosecutors’ clash, today’s fateful day
The protests from the prosecution, which have continued since the 8th, are expected to reach a watershed on the 12th, when the Democratic Party’s general assembly is held. It is observed that if the Democratic Party adopts the enforcement of the Inspection and Waiver Act as its party argument, it is highly likely that President Kim will step down.
At the meeting of the chief prosecutor, it was reported that the staged plans according to the Democratic Party’s decision and the timing of the resignation of the president were also discussed. Prosecutor Han said, “After observing the situation of the Democratic Party, we will prepare and proceed with a plan led by the Planning and Coordination Department of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office.”
Justice Minister Park Beom-gye expressed his displeasure at the protests from the prosecution. Minister Park met with reporters on the same day and said, “My position has become too narrow for the Minister of Justice to play the role. I wondered if it would pay off,” he said.
Reporter Shin Hee-cheol hcshin@donga.com
Reporter Dong-jun Heo hungry@donga.com
Reporter Wonmo Yoo onemore@donga.com
By Bae Seok-jun, staff reporter eulius@donga.com