'Song Kyung-ho in "Cho Kuk Investigation" Opposes Restriction on Direct Court Participation for Investigating Prosecutors'

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] As the Supreme Prosecutors' Office shows signs of restricting 'jikgwan' in cases related to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, even the deputy chief prosecutor overseeing the investigation and trial of Cho expressed dissatisfaction. 'Jikgwan' refers to the practice where the prosecutor who investigated the case directly attends the trial.

According to the legal community on the 1st, Prosecutor Song Kyung-ho of Suwon High Prosecutors' Office posted an article titled "Requesting an Explanation from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office" on the internal prosecution communication network, E-Pros, on the same day. In the post, he stated that since the so-called "Supreme Prosecutors' Office's jikgwan permission system" was applied from the first trial date of former Minister Cho's case, prosecutors must explain to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and obtain permission to attend the trial. He added, "Considering the frustration and self-disgust that junior prosecutors must feel while preparing reports to obtain permission for jikgwan, I have no face to see my juniors."

He also mentioned, "There is suspicion among some that the Prosecutor General might have promoted the 'jikgwan permission system' after hearing from parties related to cases such as former Minister Cho's that 'the prosecutor's jikgwan is an excessive violation of human rights.'"

Prosecutor Song said, "As the prosecutor practically overseeing the investigation and prosecution maintenance of cases related to former Minister Cho, I request an explanation from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office," and demanded, "Please explain specifically from which parties involved in which cases and in what context the Prosecutor General heard that 'the prosecutor's jikgwan is an excessive violation of human rights.'"

He added, "I am curious why the jikgwan permission system is concentrated on cases such as former Minister Cho's, the Ulsan election law violation case, the illegal overseas remittance case, and the Samsung illegal succession case."

Prosecutor Song has been overseeing former Minister Cho's case since August 2019 as the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and even after moving to the Yeoju Branch Office and Suwon High Prosecutors' Office, he has continued to maintain the prosecution of this case.

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