The Legislation and Judiciary Committee Holds Public Prosecution Service Audit Today... Board of Audit and Inspection's 'Targeted Audit' as the Biggest Issue

Director Kim Jin-wook of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency. / Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter] This year's National Assembly inspection of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HOSA) is expected to feature heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition parties over the Audit Board's controversial 'targeted audit' of personnel from the Moon Jae-in administration.

Additionally, lawmakers are expected to raise numerous questions regarding cases related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee currently under HOSA investigation, the ongoing prosecution of the 'report solicitation' case, and several recently revised guidelines by HOSA.

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee will conduct the inspection of HOSA starting at 2 p.m. today.

Opposition lawmakers are likely to urge HOSA to conduct a vigorous investigation into the Audit Board's suspected targeted probe, which was reported the day before.

Following the recent disclosure of text messages sent by Yoo Byung-ho, Secretary General of the Audit Board, to Lee Gwan-seop, Senior Presidential Secretary for National Planning, regarding the 'West Sea shooting of a public official' incident, the opposition has labeled this the 'Presidential Office-Audit Board (Daegam) Gate' and launched a full-scale offensive.

Yesterday, the Democratic Party filed a complaint with HOSA against Yoo, Lee, and five others including the heads of the Audit Board's Public Official Inspection Headquarters, Special Investigation Bureau, and Social Welfare Audit Bureau, accusing them of abuse of authority and violations of the Audit Board Act, alleging a 'targeted audit' against personnel from the Moon Jae-in administration, including the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the Korea Communications Commission, and 26 government-funded research institutes.

During today's inspection, opposition lawmakers are expected to point out procedural illegality and violations of political neutrality in various audits related to the Moon Jae-in administration currently being conducted by the Audit Board, seeking to confirm HOSA Chief Kim Jin-wook's commitment to a strong and swift investigation.

Opposition members are also expected to focus their inquiries on cases involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee under HOSA investigation, including allegations of private hiring at the Presidential Office, the involvement of the President's close acquaintances in overseas trips, and suspicions of the prosecution's lenient investigation into Deutsche Motors stock manipulation. The investigation into Constitutional Court Justice Lee Young-jin's alleged 'golf entertainment' is also a matter of interest for the opposition.

On the other hand, ruling party lawmakers, who have advocated the 'uselessness of HOSA,' are expected to criticize HOSA's poor performance, which has failed to detain a single person and has only prosecuted three cases in nearly two years since its launch, while strongly condemning HOSA's political bias in the mass investigations and prosecutions related to President Yoon Seok-yeol.

In particular, criticism is expected regarding the 'report solicitation' case, in which Chief Kim himself asserted that "the essence of this case is abuse of authority" and expressed confidence in proving the charges, but ultimately failed to apply abuse of authority charges even to Prosecutor Son Jun-sung.

HOSA judged that Prosecutor Son colluded with Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, but transferred Kim's case, which it could not directly prosecute, to the prosecution. However, in September, the prosecution decided not to indict Kim, sparking controversy over HOSA's excessive and inadequate investigation.

Furthermore, controversies over illegal search and seizure and indiscriminate communication inquiries conducted by HOSA during investigations are expected to be raised again.

Criticism is also anticipated regarding Article 24 of the HOSA Act (Relations with Other Investigative Agencies), which the Yoon Seok-yeol Presidential Transition Committee labeled a 'toxic clause' and pledged to abolish.

This provision requires other investigative agencies such as the police or prosecution to comply unconditionally when HOSA requests transfer of cases, effectively guaranteeing HOSA's priority investigative authority. Both the prosecution and legal circles have voiced calls for its abolition.

In response to this situation, HOSA recently revised its 'Investigation Deliberation Committee Operation Guidelines' to establish an internal control procedure requiring the Chief to seek the committee's review when exercising the transfer request right, except in special circumstances. However, this is criticized as not being a fundamental solution.

Additionally, lawmakers are expected to question the reasons behind the successive resignations of HOSA prosecutors and delays in building the Criminal Justice Information System KICS.

HOSA, launched by the Moon Jae-in administration, has seen its position significantly weakened since the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol government, which is led by former prosecutors. Earlier in April, the Presidential Transition Committee excluded HOSA from the list of agencies subject to work reports, replacing it with informal meetings. Although the committee explained this was due to legal restrictions, it is an undeniable fact that various circumstances after the regime change have become unfavorable to HOSA, including the fact that unlike the prosecution, HOSA has not dispatched a single staff member to the transition committee.

Perhaps due to this situation, HOSA, which initially refrained from appointing prosecutors from the prosecution, has recently appointed two chief prosecutors, both former strong-arm and special investigation prosecutors, signaling a willingness to improve relations with the prosecution. However, the consensus in the legal community is that ultimately, the key lies in proving its presence through meaningful investigative achievements.

Meanwhile, prior to today's HOSA inspection, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will conduct an inspection of the Ministry of Government Legislation starting at 10 a.m.

During the Ministry of Government Legislation inspection, opposition lawmakers are expected to criticize the political bias of the ministry, which sided with the government by interpreting as 'no problem' the enforcement decrees related to the so-called 'Complete Removal of Prosecution's Investigative Authority' laws, including the amended Prosecutors' Office Act and Criminal Procedure Act passed by the Democratic Party, as well as the enforcement decree that enabled the establishment of the Police Bureau within the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

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