"There Will Be Suspects Holding Out Claiming Illegal Investigation"... Jo Eung-cheon Says Confusion at Investigation Sites Inevitable Due to Prosecutor Reinstatement

Special Prosecutor for Kim Gun-hee Expected to Become the Third Round of the Presidential Election

On the 26th, Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the "Democratic Party Reflection and Innovation Continuous Forum" held at the National Assembly and presented on the topic "Reflection and Lessons from Five and a Half Years of Democratic Party Governance." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Jo Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, predicted that the introduction of the enforcement decree for the restoration of prosecution investigation rights (검수원복) would exacerbate confusion at investigation sites. With the enforcement decree, which reverses the intent of the current law that completely strips prosecution investigation rights (검수완박), passing the Cabinet meeting, suspects may claim illegal investigations, refuse to cooperate with investigations, or demand dismissal of prosecutions.

In an interview on June 8th with MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus,’ when asked by the host whether he believed the enforcement decree for restoration of prosecution investigation rights had nullified the 검수완박 law, Jo said, "That is likely to happen on the ground," and predicted, "The prosecution will conduct investigations according to the enforcement decree."

However, he foresaw confusion arising from the enforcement of the decree. He said, "Among suspects, those who know the law or think this is problematic, or those who think they can exploit this, may refuse to cooperate with investigations, claiming the prosecution is conducting illegal investigations," adding, "Many lawyers may argue in court that the investigation itself was conducted by an agency without investigation rights, making it an illegal investigation and illegal prosecution, and thus demand dismissal of the prosecution."

Jo also mentioned the possibility that some judges might sympathize with such claims. He said, "I have personally met various judges, and their opinions differ greatly," explaining, "Some judges say that since the prosecution still has the right to prosecute, the prosecution itself is not problematic and trials should proceed, while others believe the investigation itself is wrong and that dismissal of the prosecution is appropriate. It can vary depending on their convictions."

Jo stated, "Aside from the two major crimes (corruption and economic crimes), cases restored by the enforcement decree in other fields are not bound by the government’s enforcement decree in court," adding, "Courts are only bound by the law, so even if the presidential decree was made, courts have the authority to judge that the decree is illegal or exceeds the delegation scope." He said, "(Some suspects) may resist prosecution investigations."

Jo said, "No matter how much you dislike it, a bad law is still a law, and the law is the law," emphasizing, "The law must be amended by law. Until it is amended, it must be observed." He added, "This problem arose because instead of appealing to public sentiment that this is unreasonable and gaining momentum for legal amendment, they took the easy route of amending the enforcement decree." Jo said, "The fundamental solution is to amend the 검수완박 law, and apart from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, a special committee on criminal procedure reform should be formed quickly and activated to reach an agreement as soon as possible."

Additionally, Jo viewed the Democratic Party’s party-line proposal of a special prosecutor law regarding First Lady Kim Geon-hee as inevitably leading to a ‘third round of the presidential election.’ He predicted political turmoil around the special prosecutor law due to strong opposition from the ruling party.

He explained, "Historically, special prosecutors have never been established based on one side’s claim; they have always been processed through bipartisan agreement," adding, "One side may not want it, but when public suspicion and outrage about the case reach a critical point, it becomes impossible to block it, and then the special prosecutor law is enacted." Jo said, "Although recordings and various suspicions are emerging now, the situation has not yet reached the boiling or critical point," and added, "It seems our party quickly ‘unlocked the password’ (proposed the special prosecutor law) to avoid the burden of only seeing the names of Lee Jae-myung or Kim Hye-kyung at the Chuseok table and to also bring the names of Yoon Seok-youl and Kim Geon-hee into the discussion."

Jo expressed concern that the special prosecutor would "become the third round of the presidential election." Regarding the handling of the special prosecutor law, he said, "It is almost impossible for the special prosecutor law to pass the Legislation and Judiciary Committee where it is being discussed," and added, "What our party can do is fast-track legislation." He predicted, "There will be many conflicts if fast-track is pursued." Having previously likened the special prosecutor law to a nuclear button, he said, "Proposing the special prosecutor law is like unlocking the password, and pressing the launch button means formally submitting it to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee where the ruling and opposition parties directly confront each other."

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