Ruling Party, Government, and Blue House at Odds Over Investigation Lead in LH Scandal

Park Young-sun's Proposal Met with Kim Tae-nyeon's Response
Focus on Special Investigation by the Blue House Task Force
Opposition to "Self-Defeating Move" Even Within Ruling Party Factions

Kim Tae-nyeon, Acting Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] The ruling party, government, and Blue House are struggling to reach a consensus on who should lead the investigation into the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) speculation allegations. While the ruling party has taken a hardline stance by proposing a special prosecutor, the Blue House and government have refrained from mentioning the special prosecutor and instead urged the Joint Investigation Headquarters to demonstrate their capabilities.

Currently, the investigation into the LH speculation allegations is being handled by the Government Joint Special Investigation Headquarters on Real Estate Speculation (Special Investigation Headquarters), centered around the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters. However, on the 12th, Seoul mayoral candidate Park Young-sun proposed the introduction of a special prosecutor to the party, and Kim Tae-nyeon, the standing election committee chairman, accepted the proposal. Nevertheless, voices opposing the introduction of a special prosecutor have begun to emerge within the Democratic Party. Since dispatched prosecutors usually serve as the main agents of special prosecutors, it is argued that it is illogical for the Democratic Party, which advocates prosecutorial reform, to rely on the prosecution’s hands.

A Democratic Party lawmaker with a legal background said in a phone interview on the 16th, "The Special Investigation Headquarters has about 700 personnel. In terms of scale, I believe there is no problem with conducting the investigation," adding, "Rather than introducing a special prosecutor, shouldn’t we first observe the progress of the Special Investigation Headquarters’ investigation?" A party official also said, "It’s like advocating for the complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights (Geomsu Wanbak) but ultimately having to rely on the prosecution’s hands. It will be a self-defeating move."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A similar conflict arose during the unification debate between candidate Park and Kim Jin-ae, the Open Democratic Party’s Seoul mayoral candidate, the day before. Kim opposed the special prosecutor, saying, "The special prosecutor is a measure to avoid the rain," while Park responded, "I find it strange that the reason for opposing the special prosecutor is similar to that of Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate."

The government and Blue House have not made any separate remarks about the special prosecutor and are placing more emphasis on the Special Investigation Headquarters’ investigation. The Democratic Party’s special prosecutor card is struggling to gain traction. On the 12th, President Moon Jae-in said, "We must investigate thoroughly until the public can sympathize," urging, "Investigate with your life on the line." This also reflects the context of prioritizing the Special Investigation Headquarters’ investigation over a special prosecutor. On the 14th, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated at a meeting of related ministers, "We will thoroughly investigate illegal speculation centered on the Special Investigation Headquarters, and depending on the results, we will impose strong punishments and thoroughly recover illegal criminal proceeds according to the law."

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