Examining the Four Main Criticisms Surrounding the "Fabricated Prosecution Special Counsel Act"

[Anchor]

Criticism and concerns are mounting over the special counsel act regarding allegations of fabricated prosecutions.

Let us take a closer look at the issues being raised with legal affairs specialist reporter Im Chanjong.


Q. What is the legal community's assessment of the "Fabricated Prosecution Special Counsel Act"?

[Reporter Im Chanjong: Voices of criticism are louder within the legal community. The criticisms being raised can be largely categorized into four main points.]

Q. What about "Conflict of Interest"?

[Reporter Im Chanjong: First is the conflict of interest, which is the most fundamental issue of this special counsel act. There is an old legal maxim that "no one can be a judge in their own case." This means that if someone chooses the person in charge of a case concerning themselves, conflicts of interest cannot be avoided, leading to the collapse of the rule of law. However, this special counsel act is structured so that President Lee Jae-myung selects one person from among multiple recommended candidates to be appointed as the special counsel. Because President Lee Jae-myung, who is likely to be the greatest beneficiary of the special counsel investigation, is appointing the special counsel, critics point out that a conflict of interest is fundamentally unavoidable.]

Q. Revival of "Prosecutors' Investigative Powers"?

[Reporter Im Chanjong: That is correct. The second criticism concerns the investigative powers of prosecutors dispatched to the special counsel team. Since the revised Criminal Procedure Act took effect on November 2, prosecutors' investigative powers have been abolished. However, this special counsel act stipulates that for prosecutors dispatched to the special counsel, the provisions regarding prosecutors' investigative powers under the previous Criminal Procedure Act shall apply. The law was drafted in such a way that prosecutors' investigative powers, which had already been eliminated, are revived the moment they are dispatched to the special counsel. Critics argue that this not only causes a problem with logical consistency in itself, but also that reviving prosecutors' investigative powers exclusively for the targets of the special counsel investigation violates the constitutional right to equality.]

Q. What about the CIO and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency?

[Reporter Im Chanjong: This leads to the third issue, which prompts people to ask, "If it was going to be like this, why on earth were the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) or the Serious Crime Investigation Agency created?" This is because permanent institutions like the CIO or the Serious Crime Investigation Agency can also investigate allegations of abuse of authority by prosecutors, which are the target of this special counsel investigation, and the CIO has the authority to prosecute just like a special counsel. Nevertheless, criticisms are being raised that it is difficult to understand why permanent institutions less vulnerable to controversies over fairness are bypassed to create a special counsel whose fairness controversy is inevitable.]

Q. Is the Purpose of the Special Counsel Investigation "Dismissal of Prosecution"?

[Reporter Im Chanjong: That is the fourth issue. It is the criticism that the ultimate purpose of the special counsel is the dismissal of the prosecution against President Lee Jae-myung's case. Even if the special counsel cannot independently dismiss the prosecution of President Lee Jae-myung's case, forecasts suggest that if the special counsel announces the result that there were serious illegalities in the past prosecution's investigation, the Minister of Justice or the Prosecutor General could take the lead in dismissing the prosecution based on this. In addition, the revised Criminal Procedure Act added a clause allowing courts to dismiss indictments in cases of indictments resulting from seriously illegal investigations, so President Lee's side could also request the court to dismiss the indictment based on the special counsel's investigation results.]

(Video Editing: Kim Ho-jin, Design: Zegal Chan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.