'Special Activity Fund Controversy' Jung Cheong-rae: "Choo Holds the Hilt, Yoon the Tip of the Sword... Ultimately, Choo Wins"

"Yoon, Might Fall into an Irreversible Condition"

Jeong Cheong-rae, Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] As conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties deepen over the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's special activity expenses (special activity funds) spending details, Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, predicted that "in the end, Chu Mi-ae will win." This appears to be based on the argument that, unlike Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae did not receive an allocation of special activity funds for the prosecution this year, making verification much more favorable.

On the 10th, Jeong shared an article on his Facebook page reporting the Ministry of Justice's claim that "Minister Chu did not receive or use prosecution special activity funds," and argued, "Considering that (Minister Chu) ordered an inspection of Yoon Seok-yeol and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Chu Mi-ae holds the hilt of the sword while Yoon Seok-yeol holds the blade."

He continued, "Since Minister Chu Mi-ae is clean even regarding special activity funds, and if Prosecutor General Yoon used special activity funds, which do not require receipts, inappropriately, this will also be revealed through inspection," he forecasted.

He added, "Perhaps Prosecutor General Yoon might fall into an irrecoverable state," and pointed out, "The Corruption Investigation Office is also accelerating, so those who have been under the protective shield of prosecutorial privileges will likely spend sleepless nights one way or another."

Meanwhile, Minister Chu previously criticized the prosecution's special activity funds as being "used like Yoon's personal petty cash" during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 5th.

Subsequently, on the following day (the 6th), Minister Chu ordered the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department to conduct a swift investigation and report regarding the allocation and execution of Prosecutor General Yoon's special activity funds. In response, the opposition party demanded that the Ministry of Justice's special activity funds also be verified.

People Power Party lawmaker Jang Je-won is arriving at the on-site verification of the prosecution and Ministry of Justice special activity expense execution details conducted by the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 9th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Accordingly, ruling and opposition members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee conducted an on-site verification of the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution's special activity funds at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the 9th, lasting three hours.

However, the controversy continued even after the on-site verification. The ruling and opposition parties clashed by presenting conflicting claims based on the same data.

The opposition argued that "the data submitted by the Ministry of Justice was insufficient," while the ruling party countered that "the Supreme Prosecutors' Office data had no informational value."

Jang Je-won, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out at a press conference after the verification, "The Supreme Prosecutors' Office recently submitted thorough data such as total amounts executed over the past few years, whereas the Ministry of Justice practically did not submit data related to the execution of special activity funds," adding, "Only data indicating which department received how much was submitted. There was no way to verify how the special activity funds were used."

On the other hand, the ruling party rebutted by claiming that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office data had problems.

Baek Hye-ryun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "In fact, the supporting documents mentioned by Representative Kim were clearly present in the Ministry of Justice's data," and added, "The Supreme Prosecutors' Office had data, but it was listed by each local office, so it had little value as information."

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