Battle over Prosecutor Park Sang-yong Spreads to Judiciary Committee... Ruling Party Demands Impeachment, Opposition Says It Aims to Drop Indictment

According to Financial News, the ruling and opposition parties clashed on the 8th at a full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea over Prosecutor Park Sang-yong, who led the investigation into the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea case. The political battle surrounding Prosecutor Park has now spread from the Special Parliamentary Investigation Committee on Alleged Fabricated Prosecution by Political Prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which is conducting a parliamentary Investigation of State Administration on the grounds that the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea case and related matters were fabricated indictments by prosecutors, argued that Prosecutor Park’s appearance on a TV program violated the duty of political neutrality required of public officials. The party called on the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to impose at least a suspension from duty and other disciplinary measures, and it also left open the possibility of pursuing impeachment at the National Assembly level.
DPK lawmaker Park Jie-won said, “Yoon Suk Yeol once said, ‘If a prosecutor conducts an investigation for political purposes, that makes him a thug, not a prosecutor.’ In light of that remark, I see Park Sang-yong as a ‘thug,’” directly attacking him. He went on, “This should not end with removal from duty. There must be appropriate action in response to the criminal complaints and accusations filed against him.”
Jeon Hyun-hee, also of the DPK, stated, “If evidence of fabricated indictments is revealed through the ongoing Investigation of State Administration and criminal investigations, the National Assembly should even consider impeaching Prosecutor Park.” She added, “Since the buying of testimony by a prosecutor and the fabrication of indictments have effectively been confirmed, the MOJ must impose its own disciplinary measures on Prosecutor Park.”
The People Power Party (PPP) defended Prosecutor Park from the DPK’s offensive. PPP lawmakers countered that the DPK’s claims are ultimately aimed at securing the withdrawal of the indictment in the third-party bribery case in which DPK leader Lee Jae-myung is implicated.
PPP lawmaker Cho Bae-sook argued, “Even before the allegation about the so-called ‘salmon drinking party’ was raised, there were statements consistent with the indictment, and the trial proceeded on that basis. The High Court reviewed the issue of recanted testimony and the ‘salmon drinking party’ allegation and rendered its judgment, and the Supreme Court has finalized the conviction. To stir up controversy again over this is, in the end, aimed at getting the indictment withdrawn.”
She continued, “The move to accuse Prosecutor Park of perjury is also part of the DPK’s step-by-step effort to build that kind of narrative,” adding, “If you look at the written statement Prosecutor Park released after refusing to take the oath during the Investigation of State Administration, there is not a single point in it that is wrong.”
PPP lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun also said, “There appears to be a procedural flaw in that Prosecutor Park was not even given an opportunity to explain himself before being removed from duty,” and argued, “He is the key prosecutor in the alleged remittances to North Korea case, and we need institutional safeguards for prosecutors so that they are not swayed by political pressure.”
He went on, “Even a child could see that this whole sequence of events is ultimately converging on wiping away President Lee’s criminal liability in the remittances to North Korea case,” criticizing the MOJ’s decision to suspend Prosecutor Park from his duties.
In response, Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho said, “Because I am concerned that my personal relationship with President Lee might be misunderstood, I am making every effort to uphold fairness, neutrality, and objectivity even more strictly,” adding, “We reached our decision after a comprehensive assessment, given Prosecutor Park’s conduct during the Investigation of State Administration, including his refusal to take the oath.”
gowell@fnnews.com Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter