Senior Presidential Secretary on Distorted Indictment Special Counsel Bill: "Not to Protect President... Investigating Prosecution's Abuse of Power"

Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said on Thursday (November 5) regarding the "Distorted Indictment Special Counsel Bill" tabled at the National Assembly plenary session, "This is not to protect the president, but an investigation into the power of the prosecution that abused its authority in the past."

Senior Secretary Hong made the remarks during a comprehensive policy inquiry of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts on Thursday, when asked by independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon about his position on the special counsel bill, while prefacing that "this was a legislative decision made by the National Assembly."

"Typically, a special prosecutor investigates those in power, such as the president, but in this case, the target is exceptionally the power of the prosecution," Hong emphasized. "Because it was difficult for the prosecution to investigate its own members, the goal is to uncover the truth through a special counsel regarding how the prosecution abused its authority and conducted investigations for political purposes in the past."

Regarding President Lee Jae-myung's earlier request at a press conference in September to remove the clause granting the "power to dismiss indictments" from the special counsel bill, Hong explained, "Because the opposition raised suspicions at the time as if it were aimed at dismissing indictments in the president's personal cases, the president asked to remove that provision and uncover the truth regarding the distorted indictments."

During the exchange, Hong also took aim at Representative Han Dong-hoon, asking, "Don't you think this situation was brought about, and the dismantling of the prosecution took place, while you were serving as Minister of Justice? Don't you feel a sense of responsibility?"

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