Rebellion Special Prosecutor "If People Power Party lawmakers do not cooperate as witnesses, we will request witness examination"

[Financial News] The Rebellion and Foreign Affairs Special Prosecutor Team (Cho Eun-seok Special Prosecutor) announced that if the necessary witnesses for the investigation into the allegations of obstruction of the National Assembly's martial law lifting proposal do not cooperate, they may also request witness examination for them.
Park Ji-young, the Rebellion Special Prosecutor, stated at a regular press briefing held at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 8th, "This week, we are requesting the attendance of those necessary for clarifying the truth related to the National Assembly resolution obstruction case and seeking cooperation from various angles," adding, "In the case of truly necessary witnesses, we are considering requesting witness examination."
According to Article 221-2 of the Criminal Procedure Act, if a person who is clearly recognized to know facts indispensable for a criminal investigation refuses to attend or testify, the prosecutor may request witness examination from the judge before the first trial date.
Also, if the witness does not comply with the summons, the court can enforce attendance, and they will be questioned by the prosecutor in front of the judge, similar to the usual witness examination procedure. The testimony given during the witness examination process has the same effect as a protocol.
A witness refers to someone who testifies about their experiential facts to the court or judge, while a witness refers to someone who testifies to the investigative agency. A request for witness examination for a witness is a method of securing testimonial evidence before the first trial date if the witness refuses to attend or testify or is likely to give a different testimony from before.
The special prosecutor team is investigating whether the repeated changes in the location of the People Power Party's parliamentary meeting during the 12·3 martial law were intended to obstruct the vote on the National Assembly's resolution to lift martial law. This is to emphasize the necessity of investigating key party officials, including former representative Han Dong-hoon, as well as People Power Party lawmakers who headed to the National Assembly on the day of martial law.
Special Prosecutor Park stated, "The special prosecutor has a limited investigation period and is doing its best to investigate this case as soon as possible," adding, "Even just not responding to the summons request can be considered as expressing an intention to refuse the investigation."
He further stated, "If the court accepts the request for witness examination, the witness who did not respond to the summons can be enforced to attend," and "We ask you to voluntarily attend and cooperate in clarifying the truth before the request." 




kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-kyu Reporter