Joo Ho-young "Special Prosecutor and Public Corruption Investigation Office Should Work Together... Investigation and Prosecution Powers of Public Corruption Investigation Office Must Be Separated" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, proposed conducting a special prosecution for the Lime and Optimus scandals simultaneously with the launch of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI). However, he demanded that toxic provisions such as the separation of investigative and prosecutorial powers and the investigative functions of judges and prosecutors be amended before proceeding.

At the floor leaders' meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th, Floor Leader Joo said, "Let's take this opportunity to launch the HOCI, conduct a special prosecution for the Lime case, and appoint the Blue House Special Inspector, the North Korean Human Rights Foundation director, and the North Korean Human Rights Ambassador so that there are no vacancies."

He added, "If we just push through the HOCI because we have more seats without this, the public will not accept it," emphasizing, "There are toxic provisions in the HOCI that were hastily enacted; I officially propose amending those provisions and launching it simultaneously."

In a meeting with reporters immediately after the meeting, he said, "Previously, the position was to appoint the Special Inspector first, but now I suggest proceeding with the HOCI and special prosecution simultaneously to reach a conclusion," adding, "If the special prosecution is accepted, the HOCI will be done together. We propose appointing all legally mandated vacancies such as the Special Inspector and the North Korean Human Rights Ambassador at the same time." Regarding the special prosecution bill, he said, "It won't take long," and that preparations are underway.

Regarding the toxic provisions of the HOCI, he said, "This administration claims to be reforming investigations by separating investigative and prosecutorial powers, but the HOCI holds both," and added, "The HOCI was made to investigate abuse of power and dereliction of duty by judges and prosecutors, but its purpose is to eradicate corruption among high-ranking officials, not job-related crimes. That provision needs to be improved."

Regarding Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea's call for the launch of the HOCI, he said, "Does he really understand the relationship between Lime and the HOCI?" and criticized, "If he only talks about the HOCI without apologizing for leaving the North Korean Human Rights Ambassador and the Blue House Special Inspector positions vacant for four years, his credibility will decline."

Floor Leader Joo said, "Names of those in power and influential figures in the Democratic Party are also being mentioned in connection with the Lime and Optimus funds," and pointed out, "Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae or President Moon Jae-in can simply form a special investigation team to conduct a thorough investigation, and if not, they can call for a special prosecution, which would resolve the issue easily."

Regarding Minister Choo's investigation directives, he said, "When those in power and power brokers became disadvantaged, a letter from a detained suspect was treated as if it were a treasure, and this was used to exclude Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl from the investigation," emphasizing, "They are trying to divert attention from the Lime and Optimus cases with this, but the ultimate solution is a special prosecution."

On the audit results regarding the early shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1, he said, "I heard that there were many difficulties during the audit process because three of the audit committee members were pro-government," adding, "It is absurd that people who were in the presidential campaign or deeply involved in the government are audit committee members, and even the Democratic Party pressured the audit committee chair during the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit, saying, 'Resign if you do not align with the president's national policy direction.'"

He said, "Even aside from the audit results, the public knows that all these events were triggered by President Moon's nuclear phase-out policy," emphasizing, "Given this situation, strict legal responsibility should be imposed not only for the illegality in the shutdown decision process but also for evidence destruction and obstruction during the audit process."

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