Prosecutor Sangyong Park Again Refuses Witness Oath... Ruling and Opposition Clash

Prosecutor Sangyong Park, who investigated the "Ssangbangwool North Korea Remittance" case, was expelled from the National Assembly's national investigation for refusing to take the witness oath.

On April 14, Prosecutor Park appeared before the Special Committee on the National Investigation into Allegations of Political Prosecution and Fabricated Indictments by the Yoon Seok-Yeol Administration at the National Assembly and refused to take the witness oath.

Prosecutor Sangyong Park appeared at the hearing of the "Special Committee on the National Investigation into Allegations of Political Prosecution and Fabricated Indictments by the Yoon Seok-Yeol Administration," held at the National Assembly on the 14th. After refusing to take the witness oath, he left and is waiting outside the meeting room. 2026.4.14 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

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Prosecutor Park requested, "Please allow me to verbally explain the reasons for refusing to take the witness oath so that other members can hear," but Special Committee Chairwoman Younggyo Seo stopped him and demanded a written submission instead.

Chairwoman Seo said, "Take the witness oath, do not give false testimony, and tell the truth. Don't you think your words will be conveyed to the world?" She added, "Just like last time, you are refusing to submit an explanatory statement and to take the witness oath. Please leave and wait outside." Prosecutor Park had also refused to take the witness oath and was expelled from the previous special committee meeting on April 3.

This led to a heated debate between the ruling and opposition parties. Assemblyman Sungjoon Park of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "Prosecutor Park must think everything will be exposed and that it's dangerous, so he showed up with the intention of committing perjury. The People Power Party should persuade Prosecutor Park that appearing as a witness and telling the truth about the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case under oath is to stand before history."

Assemblyman Yongki Jeon of the Democratic Party also emphasized, "Why should we listen to the explanations of someone who is lying? If he is confident, he should take the witness oath and tell the truth."

On the other hand, Assemblywoman Kyungwon Na of the People Power Party said, "It is indeed a fabrication committee. It is a fabrication to overturn a Supreme Court decision finalized after 7 years and 8 months just to cancel President Jaemyung Lee's indictment. Only those they want are adopted as witnesses, and the proceedings are unilateral."

Assemblywoman Na further stated, "The right to refuse a witness oath is clearly stipulated for witnesses under the National Assembly Act. Forcing someone to leave and wait in a particular place exceeds the committee chair's authority and could constitute an offense of unlawful detention."

Assemblyman Sanghyun Yoon of the People Power Party said, "Since this is the National Assembly, we should respect the human rights and judicial rights of key witnesses. How about substituting the explanatory statement by distributing copies to the committee members?"

Prosecutor Park is under suspicion of attempting to win over former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young and others by holding salmon and alcohol parties during the investigation into the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case.

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