[2020 National Audit] Legislation and Judiciary Committee Audit Begins... From the Corruption Investigation Office to the Clash Between Chu and Yoon

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee is set to begin the 2020 government audit focusing on the Supreme Court, prosecution, and courts. While the opposition party members of the committee, including the People Power Party, have declared their intention to concentrate on allegations related to Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, the ruling party members, including the Democratic Party of Korea, plan to highlight prosecutorial reform issues such as the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HOCI).

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will conduct audits starting at 10 a.m. on the Supreme Court (Court Administration Office), Judicial Research and Training Institute, Judicial Policy Research Institute, Court Officials Training Institute, Court Library, and Sentencing Commission.

The biggest issue in the Supreme Court audit is the amendment bill to the HOCI Act. Previously, the Supreme Court's Court Administration Office submitted an opposition opinion to the National Assembly, stating that "the HOCI could become a superior agency to other investigative bodies." This has sparked controversy as some interpret it as the Supreme Court effectively opposing the bill.

Accordingly, a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is expected in the committee over the Supreme Court's opinion on the HOCI Act amendment bill proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min.

Moreover, the Democratic Party has set a policy to pass the amendment bill during the audit period if the People Power Party delays the formation of the HOCI Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee. The amendment bill, which allows the formation of the recommendation committee without opposition party nominees, has been submitted to the committee's subcommittee but no schedule has been set yet. It is reported that they are considering designating the review start date.

The recent court rulings partially allowing the Gwanghwamun rally and the National Foundation Day rally will also be discussed. Earlier, Seoul City had prohibited conservative groups from holding rallies on August 15, but the court partially accepted the case, allowing the rallies to proceed. Following this, COVID-19 cases increased among participants of the Gwanghwamun rally, leading to criticism directed at the courts.

The progressive bias of the Supreme Court bench, raised since the appointment of Justice Lee Heung-gu, known as the "first judge convicted under the National Security Act," may also become a key issue. Justice Lee has a past conviction under the National Security Act, which has continuously raised concerns about "political bias."

With Justice Lee's addition, the Supreme Court is now under scrutiny. The number of justices appointed by President Moon Jae-in, including Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, has increased to 11. Among them, eight justices were nominated by Chief Justice Kim. This constitutes more than half of the 13-member full bench. Full bench rulings are decided by a majority of attending justices. Notably, the number of justices from progressive groups such as the Uri Law Research Association (including Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, Justices Park Jung-hwa, Noh Jung-hee, and Lee Heung-gu), the International Human Rights Law Research Association (Justice Kim Sang-hwan), and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Justice Kim Sun-soo) has increased to six, strengthening their influence.

Following the Supreme Court audit, the committee will conduct audits on the Constitutional Court on the 8th, the Ministry of Justice on the 12th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 19th, and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 22nd.

The most intense confrontations are expected during the audits of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. During the Ministry of Justice audit, ruling and opposition parties are likely to clash over the prosecution's investigation results concerning Minister Choo's son, Seo. The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office dismissed the case citing that the vacation extension was a legitimate procedure and there was no external pressure, but during the investigation, it was revealed that Minister Choo, when she was a member of the National Assembly, inquired about Seo's vacation through her aide, raising suspicions of "lying."

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl will appear at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit. Yoon is under suspicion regarding a complaint related to his mother-in-law Choi and alleged "private meetings" with the president of Chosun Ilbo during his tenure as head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Unlike Minister Choo, Yoon has never officially commented on these allegations.

Meanwhile, the committee has requested a total of 341 institutional witnesses for this audit, including 119 heads of institutions and 222 department heads. This is similar to the 333 witnesses in 2019 and 330 in 2018.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.