“The New Year’s Counterattack of the Motherland” Severe Crime Investigation Office

Former Justice Minister Cho Kook sparked a controversy over the promotion of the Great Crimes Investigation Office, which completely abolished the prosecution’s right to investigate directly during the Lunar New Year holidays. Former Minister Cho said, “I wish that a separate system of airborne agencies, prosecutors’ offices, major crime investigation agencies, and police agencies will be established.” It is while publishing an article stating that it has the right to request supplemental investigations.

Immediately inside and outside the prosecution, it was pointed out that “the former Minister Cho started a counterattack by dismantling the prosecution in a situation where his wife, Professor Kyung-Shim Chung was arrested in court at the first trial on charges of corruption in the entrance examination for their children, and he was also ahead of the decision in the first trial.”

On the 12th of Lunar New Year’s Day, Cho said on Facebook on the 12th, “(If the prosecution’s right to investigate is transferred to the Severe Crime Investigation Office), the claim that the total investigative capacity is degraded is unfounded,” he said. “I have a lot of talent and experience in the six criminal investigations. If you want to continue, you can leave the’Prosecutor’s Office’ and change your affiliation and position to the’Severe Crimes Investigation Office’.” therefore “In the early stages of the Moon Jae-in administration, the idea of ​​the party, government, and office was a step-by-step theory of progressing toward the final goal of the prosecution reform, after the achievement of the ‘establishment of the airlift-adjustment of the power of investigation’.“I said.

It means that the abolition of the prosecution’s right to investigate is the final goal of the Moon Jae-in administration in season 2 of the prosecution reform.

Earlier, Hwang Unha, Kim Nam-guk and Kim Yong-min, along with Democratic Party lawmakers Choi Kang-wook, and Open Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook, proposed the enactment of the “Severe Crime Investigation Office Establishment and Operation Act” aimed at abolishing the entire prosecution’s direct investigation rights. Together, the Democratic Party and the Open Democratic Party The main bill of the bill to abolish the existing prosecutors’ office, initiated at the end of last year, and establish the’Public Prosecution Office’to be.

If this bill is passed, it has been implemented since January of this year due to the revision of the Prosecutors’ Office Act in accordance with the adjustment of the prosecutor’s office The prosecution’s six major crimes (corruption, economy, elections, defense projects, public officials, and major disasters) will all be directly investigated by the newly established Serious Crime Investigation Office.. The Severe Crime Investigation Office consists only of the 1st to 7th level investigators (judicial police officers) other than the vice-minister level chief investigator (the chief investigator) and the deputy chief of the investigative officer (the chief investigator).

If the prosecutor at the existing prosecutor’s office wants to investigate as the former Minister Cho wrote, Those who were prosecutors were not allowed to exceed half the number of investigators for each position.

The abolition of the power of investigation by the prosecution on the basis of the separation of the right of investigation and prosecution is not the only argument of former Minister Cho Kook. Former Minister Choo Mi-ae also released on his blog right after his retirement at the end of last month.Was.

New Justice Minister Park Beom-gye In a radio interview “There is also a bill to make the prosecution office into a public prosecution office, and there are discussions to create a special investigation office under the Ministry of Justice. In principle, the direction of’separation of investigation and prosecution’ is considered correct.I supported it.

However, there were criticisms from inside and outside the legal community and the prosecution that “abolition of the prosecution’s right to investigate the prosecution is to overthrow the ability to investigate serious crimes accumulated over the years in an instant,” and “to put the power of investigation under political power.”

Former Seoul East District Prosecutor’s Office, Seok Dong-hyun, defined lawmakers Hwang Unha, Kim Nam-guk, and Choi Kang-wook, who submitted a bill to establish a serious crime investigation agency on Facebook on the 13th, as “anti-prosecutors’ association in the passport” He pointed out that it was an attempt to decompose the prosecution in the air.” He added, “Have you helped even the motherland, the symbol of Juanmuchi in this era?”

He also pointed out that “they (passports) only care about creating a world where no matter what powers or interests they enjoy, they are not under the control of the prosecution and courts that have been monitoring them and will not be scolded.” He also urged Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol to “show a determination to stop the unrighteous attempt by saying, “I’d rather hit my head.”

Attorney Gyeong-ae Kwon, a former lawyers group for a democratic society (Minbyun), criticized the ruling party’s proposal for the bill as “the state’s system is rapidly disintegrating in a way that you will not notice.” He cited the fact that the Chief of the Great Crimes Investigations Commission was elected like the Chief of Public Affairs, “in the end, it is a matter of recruiting personnel to the investigating agency and controlling the organization.” That is,” he pointed out.

There are also criticisms as “political retaliation” because former Minister Cho who supported the Severe Criminal Investigation Office or lawmakers Hwang Unha and Choi Kang-wook, who led the bill, are currently defendants being tried under prosecution investigations. Rep. Choi was convicted of falsely writing the internship certificate of Cho’s son’s internship, and was sentenced to loss of his post at the first trial. Rep. Hwang is being tried on suspicion of involvement in the election of Ulsan mayor of the Blue House, and former Minister Jo is being tried on allegations of Mouma and family corruption.

In response, an attorney who was a former chief prosecutor said, “If there is a serious crime investigation agency in the airborne agency, the prosecution will become a’plant institution’ in effect,” and “I do not know how far the ruling party’s runaway will continue.”

Reporter Kim Soo-min [email protected]