Conservative Opposition Submits Special Prosecutor Proposal for Lime and Optimus... "Will Use All Means to Enforce"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Kwon Eun-hee, member of the People Party, are entering the National Assembly Secretariat on the morning of the 22nd to submit a bill concerning the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Lime and Optimus fund financial fraud damages and allegations of power-type corruption gate.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] The People Power Party and the People’s Party submitted a special prosecutor bill on the 22nd regarding the Lime and Optimus private equity fund fraud cases.

On the morning of the same day, People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young and People’s Party floor leader Kwon Eun-hee visited the National Assembly’s legislative affairs office and submitted the bill, stating, "We will use all means to ensure the appointment of a special prosecutor."

The bill is titled "Act on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor for the Investigation of Financial Fraud Victims of Lime and Optimus Funds and Allegations of Power-related Corruption Gate." A total of 110 lawmakers, including independents, signed the bill.

Floor leader Joo said, "Who is the invisible hand that caused numerous public institutions to invest tens or hundreds of billions of won in unverified private equity funds? Many ordinary citizens are suffering losses, yet proper investigations are not being conducted." He added, "This case, involving the former senior secretary for political affairs and administrative officers of the Blue House, cannot be properly investigated or the truth revealed by the prosecution under Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae," explaining the background for proposing the special prosecutor bill.

Floor leader Kwon also emphasized, "Minister Choo disbanded the Securities Crime Joint Investigation Unit, making it impossible to conduct specialized investigations into the financial fraud crimes that took trillions of won from the public’s pockets." She stressed, "Without a special prosecutor led by expert prosecutors, the essence of cases such as no-capital M&A cannot be uncovered." She added, "The criminal is directing the investigation through Minister Choo, who is overseeing the investigative authorities. Without completely excluding Minister Choo, the matter cannot be accurately clarified."

In the afternoon, floor leader Joo met with Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party, to discuss whether to process the special prosecutor bill. He urged, "The Democratic Party has no reason or justification to reject or avoid the special prosecutor. Refusing it would show the public that there are many corruptions to hide or cover up." He called for a swift appointment of the special prosecutor to avoid political conflict.

Regarding the larger scale compared to the Choi Soon-sil special prosecutor, he explained, "There are so many victims and the amount of damage is astronomical. It is also necessary to review the subsequent investigation process." On the possibility of acceptance by the Democratic Party, he said, "We will use all available means to ensure the special prosecutor is appointed," leaving open the possibility of measures such as parliamentary audits, budget boycotts, or protests outside the legislature, stating, "Nothing has been decided yet, but various options can be considered depending on the situation."

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