Daegum, Today Daegum Deputy Chief and High Prosecutors' Meeting... Discussion on 'Han Myeong-sook Case'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 19th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held a meeting of the Deputy Prosecutors General and High Prosecutors General to reconsider the decision of no charges in the 'Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-suk's false accusation perjury case.'

On the morning of the same day, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held a meeting of the Deputy Prosecutors General at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to review the presence of charges and the possibility of prosecution against inmate Kim, who is suspected of committing perjury during the trial of former Prime Minister Han's bribery case. The statute of limitations for the crime of false accusation perjury is 10 years, and this case's statute of limitations expires at midnight on the 22nd. There are only four days left for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to decide whether to prosecute.

This meeting was held as Cho Nam-gwan, Acting Prosecutor General, accepted the investigative directive from Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye. Earlier, on the 17th, Minister Park directed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to reconsider the prosecution decision at the Deputy Prosecutors General meeting, stating that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office had unfairly dismissed the false accusation perjury case. In response, Acting Prosecutor General Cho said, "I will humbly accept the investigative directive's criticism and promptly hold the Deputy Prosecutors General meeting to reconsider the case."

High Prosecutors General from the front lines are also expected to participate in the Deputy Prosecutors General meeting held that day. Earlier, Acting Prosecutor General Cho stated, "There are concerns inside and outside the prosecution that a meeting of only deputy prosecutors general is insufficient to guarantee fairness," expressing his intention to include front-line High Prosecutors General in the meeting. However, it is not known which High Prosecutors General will participate. A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official said, "The list of attendees cannot be disclosed."

The content and results of the Deputy Prosecutors General meeting are also expected to remain undisclosed. A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official said, "According to Article 23 of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office regulations on the operation of consultative bodies for reasonable decision-making, disclosure is difficult." The Supreme Prosecutors' Office also added that the main building of the office will not be open to the public on the day of the meeting.

If a decision to prosecute the inmate accused of false accusation perjury is made at the meeting, the statute of limitations for the charge of instigating false accusation perjury will also be suspended, potentially expanding the investigation to the Han Myeong-suk investigation team. If the charge of instigating perjury by the Han Myeong-suk investigation team becomes prominent, it is expected to strengthen the ruling party's push for prosecutorial reform, including the removal of the prosecution's direct investigative authority.

However, there is also speculation that it will not be easy for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to find grounds to overturn the no-charge decision already made earlier this month. Especially with High Prosecutors General, who have faithfully represented internal prosecutorial opinions, participating in the meeting, the atmosphere leans toward no prosecution.

With former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who had been in direct confrontation with the government, having resigned, and the prosecution under pressure due to the ruling party's push for the Serious Crime Investigation Office (Jungsucheong), there is also speculation that the prosecution may choose to restore trust by prosecuting and resolving disputes through trial. Additionally, due to insufficient discussion time, there is a possibility that no conclusion will be reached at the meeting. In that case, Acting Prosecutor General Cho will make the final decision on prosecution based on the meeting's results.

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