Legislation Committee Cuts Prosecution's Special Activity Fund by 4.05 Billion Won Led by Ruling Party... Opposition Calls It "Gangster Behavior"

On November 12, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee reduced the prosecution's special activity expenses by 4.05 billion won compared to the government's original proposal.

The committee held a plenary session on this day to review next year's government budget proposals for the Ministry of Justice, the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, and the Supreme Court, and passed the decision accordingly. The prosecution's special activity expenses are funds used for investigations into confidential information and cases, and do not require supporting documents when spent.

Yonhap News Agency

Earlier in the morning, the committee's subcommittee converted 2 billion won of the 7.2 billion won in special activity expenses allocated in the government proposal into "special work expenses" that require supporting documentation, effectively reducing the special activity expenses by 2 billion won. During the subsequent plenary session, lawmakers from the ruling bloc argued that the special activity expenses should be reduced even further.

Park Eunjung, a lawmaker from the Rebuilding Korea Party, stated, "Special activity expenses are only justifiable for direct investigations into corruption and economic crimes. Considering this, the amount should ultimately be adjusted to 3.15 billion won," adding, "Even then, proper supporting documents must be provided."

As a result of the plenary session, led by the Democratic Party, the prosecution's special activity expenses were revised and passed at 3.15 billion won, a reduction of 4.05 billion won from the government's proposal.

The committee also issued supplementary opinions regarding the guidelines that must be followed when executing the prosecution's special activity expenses. Notably, it was decided that special activity expenses would not be allocated to any prosecutor's office where a chief prosecutor who has participated in collective action in violation of the 'duty of political neutrality' is serving. In addition, it was stipulated that the special activity expenses should be focused exclusively on investigations into crimes that directly impact people's livelihoods and daily lives.

There was strong opposition from the opposition parties. Kwak Gyutaek, a lawmaker from the People Power Party and a former prosecutor, said, "This is no different from giving special activity expenses only to those who obey the Minister of Justice and withholding them from those who do not." He also claimed, "At the Ministry of Government Legislation, a former lawyer for President Lee Jaemyung was appointed as the head and was given a success fee with state funds." Na Kyungwon, another lawmaker from the People Power Party, added, "The Democratic Party's passage of the budget bill today is akin to gangster behavior. Only the prosecution's 'loyalty fund' remains. It is shameful."

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