▲ Special Counsel Kwon Chang-young poses for a commemorative photo with assistant special counsels after unveiling a signboard at the office for the special counsel to uncover the truth regarding treason, foreign exchange, and state administration manipulation by Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee in Gwacheon on February 25.
The second comprehensive special counsel team, approaching the end of its investigation, is expected to make a massive wave of indictments in the final stretch.
The special counsel team plans to select those subject to indictment and hand them over to trial by the 23rd, the investigation deadline, and then announce the final investigation results on the 24th.
Following the indictment of 17 individuals last week—including former President Yoon Suk-yeol and People Power Party lawmakers Na Kyung-won, Kim Gi-hyeon, Yoon Sang-hyun, and Kwon Young-jin—the special counsel team is projected to additionally indict around 20 people during the remaining week.
Representative examples include the pending indictment of Kim Keon-hee, who is considered the core figure in allegations of providing preferential treatment during the relocation of the presidential residence.
The decision on whether to indict People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Han-hong and 21gram CEO Kim Tae-young, who are suspected of continuously intervening from the selection of the construction contractor to the construction process, is also scheduled to be made this week.
Regarding allegations that the National Intelligence Service participated in treason, the team is also reviewing whether to indict political appointees of the intelligence service, including former National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong and former First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won.
Regarding allegations of changing the Yangpyeong Expressway route and external pressure on the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation investigation, the team plans to indict around 5 people.
The special counsel team, which launched in February, investigated the remaining cases of the three special counsels for 150 days through two extensions, but failed to complete the investigation within the deadline.
Subsequently, the National Assembly amended the special counsel act to enable a third extension, continuing the investigation for a total of 180 days.
To maintain indictments, the team is also recruiting special investigators targeting lawyers with five or more years of legal experience.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.