DPK proposes impeachment bill of four prosecutors who investigated cases of its leader

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik passes a motion to refer the impeachment bill against prosecutor Kang Baek-sin to the Judiciary Committee during a plenary session of the National Assembly on July 2. Park Min-kyu

A bill to impeach four prosecutors (Kang Baek-shin, Uhm Hee-joon, Park Sang-yong, and Kim Young-cheol), proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), was referred to the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee on July 2. The prosecutors included those who were in charge of investigating former DPK leader Lee Jae-myung's Ssangbangwool North Korean remittance case and the Daejangdong and Baekhyundong development scandals. While the DPK emphasized that it was exercising its parliamentary authority over "scandalous prosecutors," it is hard to avoid criticism that the move is a bulletproof one that takes into account the "judicial risk" of Lee.

The DPK and other opposition parties voted to refer the four prosecutors to the Judicial Affairs Committee in a plenary session of the National Assembly on the same day, without the participation of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP). The National Assembly Act allows impeachment bills to be reported to the plenary session and then referred to a judicial committee for investigation before a vote.

The DPK is determined to summon the prosecutors directly to the National Assembly to prove the justification for impeachment. "Looking at the recent behavior of the prosecutors' organization, it seems to be true that 'all prosecutors are equal before the law,'" Kim Yong-min, deputy policy chief of the DPK, said at the plenary session. "We will continue to use the power of the National Assembly to crack down on corrupt prosecutors and political prosecutors."

Min Hyung-bae, a member of the DPK’s Task Force on Prosecutors' Crimes, said, "There could be any number of prosecutors (to be impeached) in the future, and it is not appropriate to mention their real names here."

Prosecutors in charge of investigations against opposition figures such as Lee have been targeted for impeachment. In the case of Park, he cited allegations of "soliciting drinks" against former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young as grounds for impeachment. Prosecutor Uhm was accused of being a teacher of perjury against former Prime Minister Han Myung-sook in 2011, while Kang was accused of conducting illegal raids during a defamation investigation against President Yoon Suk-yeol last year. Prosecutor Kim was included in the impeachment list for allegedly making backroom deals with Jang Si-ho, the nephew of Choi Seo-won (formerly known as Choi Soon-sil), during the investigation and trial of the "manipulation of state affairs" case.

The DPK said there was "no disagreement (Yoon Jong-kun, spokesperson for the party)” on the impeachment motion at the parliamentary session. However, there is also a sense of criticism beneath the surface. Behind the scenes, however, critical opinions are also detected. Analysts say that the inclusion of "bulletproof issues" in important matters, such as a special counsel probe bill to investigate into the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun, has tarnished the authenticity of the special prosecution's handling of the special counsel probe bills.

An official from the presidential office told reporters, "To impeach the prosecutors who investigated the former DPK leader Lee is like asking the DPK to have the right to investigate the way they want to.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.

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