'Fabricated indictment' special prosecutor act had limited impact on local elections, Democratic lawmaker says

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

Cheon Jun-ho, floor operations chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, said Thursday that the "fabricated indictment" special prosecutor act had only a limited effect on the recent local elections.

Appearing on MBC Radio that day, Cheon said he could not rule out some electoral impact entirely but assessed it as "quite limited." He pointed to the Busan mayoral race as evidence. "Candidate Jeon Jae-soo won the Busan mayoral election, didn't he? Looking at that, there seems to be an assessment that the influence of the fabricated indictment special prosecutor act was limited," he said.

Cheon also explained the rationale behind the bill, saying the party had identified numerous instances of manipulation during a parliamentary investigation. "It was a natural conclusion that we needed to use a special prosecutor to clearly establish the facts and determine whether to hold anyone legally accountable," he said.

He added that the public needed to be reminded again of why the legislation was pursued in the first place. "When President Lee Jae Myung was Democratic Party leader, prosecutors mobilized the full force of state power over two and a half years to indict him no fewer than six times," Cheon said. "The goal of this special prosecutor act was to correct that abnormal situation, and I would hope people look at that aspect first."

On the "Prosecution Human Rights and Future Committee" that prosecutors launched Wednesday, Cheon said the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution were the very institutions that had wielded state power in what he called fabricated indictments. "The then-justice minister was Rep. Han Dong-hoon, who has since won election, and the prosecutors involved remain within that organization," he said. "Regardless, an objective investigation through a special prosecutor is necessary." He added that internal reform efforts were also needed.

Asked about the method for nominating a special prosecutor as a safeguard for neutrality, Cheon said the assessment should not rest solely on which party makes the nomination, but also on the character of the individual and how society evaluates that person. He said excluding party nominations from the process was something that "can be fully reviewed in the course of discussions."

On the timing of Criminal Procedure Act revisions, Cheon said the work must be completed well before September, when the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Service are set to launch, so those organizations can begin operating properly.

Regarding the abolition of supplementary investigative powers, Cheon said opinions were divided — some argue such powers are still necessary, while others contend that given prosecutors' past conduct, retaining them could actually obstruct efforts to resolve longstanding problems with the prosecution. "I will reach a reasonable conclusion after going through a process of in-depth discussion and debate from various angles," he said.