Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong Requests Convening of Prosecution Investigation Deliberation Committee... "Please Review the Validity of Indictment"

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to Hold Prosecutors' Citizen Committee Meeting to Discuss Referral Decision

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics (52), who is under prosecution investigation over suspicions surrounding the merger between Samsung C&T Corporation and Cheil Industries, has requested the convening of the Prosecutor's Investigation Deliberation Committee (hereafter Investigation Deliberation Committee), composed of experts from various sectors of society, to assess the appropriateness of his indictment.

With the investigation team having completed two rounds of summons and questioning of Vice Chairman Lee and now reviewing the handling of the detention of Lee and key related figures, the convening of the Investigation Deliberation Committee has emerged as a new variable in the ongoing investigation.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, Lee and some president-level executives under investigation for the Samsung C&T-Cheil Industries merger case submitted a request through their attorneys to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office yesterday, asking for the Investigation Deliberation Committee to review whether to prosecute or not prosecute.

The Investigation Deliberation Committee, established at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, is a body where experts from various sectors of society appointed as members deliberate on cases that have raised public suspicion or attracted social attention, including ▲whether to continue the investigation ▲whether to prosecute or dismiss charges ▲whether to request or re-request an arrest warrant ▲and the appropriateness and legality of investigations in cases where prosecution or dismissal decisions have been made.

If the suspect or their attorney requests the convening of the Investigation Deliberation Committee through the Prosecutor's Citizen Committee of the jurisdictional prosecutor's office handling the case, the Prosecutor's Citizen Committee forms a sub-deliberation committee of 15 prosecutor citizen members, and based on written opinions submitted by the chief prosecutor and the suspect or other related parties, deliberates on whether to refer the case to the Investigation Deliberation Committee.

The sub-deliberation committee's review is conducted privately, and if a majority of the attending sub-deliberation committee members approve the referral, the request to convene the Investigation Deliberation Committee is sent to the Prosecutor General.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office plans to soon hold a Prosecutor's Citizen Committee meeting to discuss the agenda of referring the case involving Vice Chairman Lee and others to the Investigation Deliberation Committee. If the Prosecutor's Citizen Committee decides to convene, the Prosecutor General must accept and convene the Investigation Deliberation Committee.

Subsequently, a current affairs committee composed of 15 members deliberates on the matter with at least 10 members participating, then drafts a deliberation opinion report on the results and sends it to the chief prosecutor. However, related guidelines state that "the chief prosecutor must respect the deliberation opinion of the current affairs committee," though this does not grant binding authority.

The current affairs committee also decides whether and when to disclose the deliberation opinion.

According to prosecution statistics, since the system was implemented in 2018 until this year, the Investigation Deliberation Committee has been convened in eight cases involving bribery, abuse of authority, and other charges.

With Vice Chairman Lee's request to convene the Prosecutor's Investigation Deliberation Committee, the opinions of external experts outside the prosecution are expected to be reflected in the decision on the handling of suspects and indictment related to the 'Samsung merger and succession suspicions' case, which has been ongoing for one year and six months.

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