Unprecedented Double Special Prosecutor Investigation for Presidential Candidates... Will Results Emerge Within 100 Days?

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] With 110 days left until the presidential election, the unprecedented launch of a dual special prosecutor investigation targeting both ruling and opposition presidential candidates is becoming visible. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, expressed his willingness to accept a "special prosecutor investigation without conditions" regarding the Daejang-dong scandal. Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate, opposed the Democratic Party's demand to include the "Busan Savings Bank investigation cover-up suspicion" within the scope but said, "It may be a desperate tactic to avoid the special prosecutor investigation, but if they want to go dual, then (let them) do so." Although the possibility of forming the 14th special prosecutor team in history has increased, it is uncertain whether investigation results will be available before the election.

The special prosecutor system appoints an external lawyer as a special prosecutor instead of a regular prosecutor to independently conduct investigations, prosecutions, and maintain public prosecution in cases requiring political neutrality and fairness. If the National Assembly agrees and passes the Special Prosecutor Act, a special prosecutor is appointed, an investigation team is formed, and investigations proceed within the period and scope defined by the Act.

However, the legal community analyzes that time will be tight with less than four months left until the presidential election. Even if the ruling and opposition parties agree to introduce a special prosecutor, it is highly likely that more than a month will be needed just for appointing the special prosecutor and preparing for the investigation. In fact, after the Special Prosecutor Act was passed, the special prosecutor for the former President Lee Myung-bak’s Naegok-dong residence land purchase suspicion took 53 days to launch, the state affairs manipulation special prosecutor took 37 days, and the Druking special prosecutor took 44 days.

The investigation period is also an issue. The investigation period specified in the Special Prosecutor Act ranges from 30 to 70 days depending on the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, and can be extended up to 30 days depending on the situation. Considering the special prosecutor appointment period, investigation preparation period, and actual investigation period, it is difficult to complete the investigation before the March presidential election.

Because of this, the political and legal circles are mentioning the permanent special prosecutor system. This system allows the special prosecutor recommendation procedure to start immediately if the National Assembly passes a resolution in the plenary session or the Minister of Justice decides, without the need to separately enact a Special Prosecutor Act.

According to the permanent special prosecutor law introduced in 2014, a special prosecutor can be appointed within at least 8 days once the special prosecutor candidate recommendation committee is activated. The investigation period is 60 days, extendable by 30 days. Even adding the special prosecutor appointment period, if speed is increased, investigation results could be available before the presidential election.

There are variables, however. There is a sufficient possibility of investigation extension, and since the investigation target and scope are matters for ruling and opposition agreement, negotiations will also require time. Previously, the Sewol ferry special prosecutor, the only one launched under the permanent special prosecutor law, took four months from the plenary session resolution to the formation of the recommendation committee.

It is also not easy to narrow the differences between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the investigation scope. Candidate Lee and the ruling party insist that the Busan Savings Bank illegal loan suspicion should be included in the Daejang-dong special prosecutor investigation, while the People Power Party views bringing the Busan Savings Bank case into the special prosecutor investigation as a "desperate tactic."

Candidate Yoon recently told reporters, "They say various conditions, including the 'reporting for prosecution' suspicion and the Busan Savings Bank investigation, should be included together, but proposing a special prosecutor investigation for matters where criminal facts are not specified does not fit the purpose and is a desperate tactic to avoid the special prosecutor investigation," adding, "It may be a desperate tactic to avoid the special prosecutor investigation, but if they want to go dual, then (let them) do so."

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