Head of Prosecutor Future Committee Faces Controversy Over Past Defense of Former President Moon's Bribery Case

It has been revealed that Chang Ju-young, chairperson of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor Future Committee for Human Rights Respect, previously served as defense counsel for former President Moon Jae-in in a bribery case that is currently under the committee's investigation.

With the former defense counsel of a case-related party now heading a committee tasked with determining whether the prosecution's past investigation was flawed, concerns have arisen regarding fairness and potential conflicts of interest.

According to legal circles on September 21, Chairperson Chang had represented former President Moon in the first-trial proceedings of his bribery allegations currently underway at the Seoul Central District Court.

This case is one of 12 additional investigation targets selected by the committee last month following public proposals.

At the time, the committee explained that the cases were chosen by comprehensively considering factors such as the severity of human rights violations, public interest, social impact, and the necessity of preventing recurrences.

However, voices both inside and outside the legal community raised concerns over fairness, noting that many of the targeted cases involve figures linked to the ruling faction.

Additionally, it was reported that committee member Lee Dong-yeon, a former judge, had previously represented Roh Eun-chae, former chief of staff to the National Intelligence Service director—who faced charges including the destruction of public electronic records—in the first trial of the West Sea official killing case, which was part of the initial investigation targets.

The committee has reportedly decided to recuse both Chairperson Chang and member Lee from the deliberation and voting processes concerning their respective cases.

Chairperson Chang stated, "It is true that I represented former President Moon's case," adding, "I submitted a notice of withdrawal as defense counsel to the court on June 22, which was the 12th day after the committee's launch."

He further stated, "I recused myself at the time the case was selected, did not participate in the vote, and have remained excluded from related duties ever since."

Regarding member Lee Dong-yeon, the committee explained, "He recused himself during the selection of the case and did not participate in the vote. While he was present in the meeting room during subsequent briefings, he was excluded from duties and neither spoke nor was involved."

Chairperson Chang noted, "Going forward, the committee will ensure that members subject to recusal and duty exclusion do not attend any deliberation, briefing, or voting meetings to prevent any misunderstandings regarding fair operations."

Launched in June, the Prosecutor Future Committee was formed to investigate the truth behind cases where allegations of human rights violations or abuse of prosecutorial authority have been raised, and to recommend measures to prevent recurrences.

The initial seven investigation targets included the Ssangbangwool illegal cash remittance to North Korea case, the Daejang-dong development scandal, the case involving former Minjoo Research Institute Vice President Kim Yong, the Wirye new town case, the West Sea official killing case, the statistics manipulation case, and the false reporting allegation regarding defamation of Yoon Suk Yeol.

With the addition of 12 more cases last month, the total number of investigation targets has increased to 19.

Among them, eight cases are related to President Lee Jae-myung.

(Photo: Provided by Ministry of Justice, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.