Citizen Group: "Transfer of Prosecutor Complaint Cases by the Corruption Investigation Office to the Prosecutors' Office Is Unconstitutional"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A constitutional complaint has been filed arguing that the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (Gong-su-cheo) acted unconstitutionally by receiving cases of prosecutors accused of dereliction of duty for allegedly not properly investigating preferential treatment and lobbying suspicions related to the Daejang-dong development, and then transferring them back to the prosecution.

The civic group National Council of Evictees Central Association (Jeoncheolhyeop) held a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court on the 3rd to announce the filing of the constitutional complaint, stating, "Dereliction of duty by prosecutors or the Prosecutor General is supposed to be investigated by Gong-su-cheo, but Gong-su-cheo violated its own law by passing the cases back to the prosecution."

Jeoncheolhyeop argued, "If Gong-su-cheo transferred cases that fall under its exclusive jurisdiction to the prosecution without investigating them, it ultimately discriminated against the accusers and conducted a negligent investigation, infringing on citizens' right to file complaints and the right to equality," adding, "The decision to transfer the cases completely disregards the basis for Gong-su-cheo's establishment."

In November of last year, Jeoncheolhyeop filed a complaint with Gong-su-cheo against Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo, Seoul Central District Prosecutor Lee Jung-soo, and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (head of the Daejang-dong suspicion task force), stating, "Despite abundant evidence and witness statements, the prosecutors handling the Daejang-dong gate case did not even summon Lee Jae-myung, then mayor of Seongnam City."

Gong-su-cheo transferred the case to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in February, three months after receiving the complaint, and three days later, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office sent it back to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Six days later, considering the investigation and jurisdiction of the Daejang-dong suspicions, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office transferred the case to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office.

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