Parliamentary probe into prosecution hits snag as opposition demands halt and Park Sang-yong refuses to testify

[The Financial News] The parliamentary investigation into alleged fabricated indictments by political prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration ran into difficulties as soon as it effectively began on the 3rd. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) demanded that the inquiry be halted, while Prosecutor Park Sang-yong, who handled the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case and appeared as a witness, refused to take the witness oath.
The Special Committee on Parliamentary Investigation received institutional reports that day on the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea (SPO), the Seoul and Suwon High Prosecutors' Offices, and the Seoul Southern and Suwon District Prosecutors' Offices.
As the first round of institutional reporting got under way and the parliamentary inquiry moved into full swing, the PPP called for the investigation to be stopped. The party denounced as "agitation" the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)'s release of a recording of Prosecutor Park's remarks, which the DPK had cited as evidence of alleged fabricated indictments.
Members of the special committee from the PPP told reporters, "The ongoing parliamentary investigation is being driven by false and fabricated reporting and by a biased tip from attorney Seo Min-seok, who is preparing to run in local elections as a DPK candidate," adding, "A parliamentary inquiry based on lies and agitation must be halted immediately." They went on to demand that President Lee Jae Myung's trial over the North Korea remittances be resumed so that the truth can be established.
Prosecutor Park Sang-yong, whose recorded remarks the DPK had used as a basis for its offensive, refused to take the witness oath before the parliamentary inquiry. He submitted only a seven-page written statement to the special committee and then left the meeting room. The remaining 32 witnesses, including Park Cheol-woo, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, did take the oath.
In his written statement, Park argued that under current law a parliamentary investigation may not interfere in ongoing investigations or trials, and that for this reason it would be unlawful for him to take the witness oath. He also contended that the inquiry is inappropriate because it effectively seeks to pressure prosecutors to withdraw the indictment in President Lee's trial.

uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yoon-ho Reporter