Jang Dong-hyuk: "We Will Pursue a Special Counsel Bill over the Falsely Closed Jang Mi Ran Missing-Person Case"

[Financial News] People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk said on the 2nd that he would pursue a special counsel bill to investigate the case involving the falsely closed investigation into the disappearance of Jang Mi Ran in Jeju Province. His plan is to push through what he called “a pair of special counsel investigations,” alongside a special counsel investigation into a single-stock leveraged exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Jang held a press conference at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea that day and said, "Yesterday (the 1st), the Jeju Provincial Police Agency announced investigation results concluding that the case involving Jang’s disappearance was the result of Lieutenant Boo’s personal misconduct." He added, "I did not expect much, but the police once again acted like the police."
Jang emphasized, "When the police were searching the scene based on cellphone location tracking in the early stages of the disappearance, Lieutenant Boo stopped the search by falsely claiming that contact had been made." He added, "It was clearly suspicious, yet this aspect was not investigated at all."
He argued, "If the search was stopped through a lie, there is a very high possibility that this case was connected to a crime." He continued, "There is also a very high possibility that Lieutenant Boo, who halted the search through an intentional lie, was connected to that crime."
Jang also argued that the chain of command should be held accountable. He asked, "There were as many as 25 cases in which Lieutenant Boo falsely closed investigations. In 15 of them, people were recorded as dead and the cases were deleted even after their safety had been confirmed, yet no one even examined whether the chain of command was involved or responsible. How can anyone trust the police and leave the investigation to them when the police investigation is in this state?"
He continued, "All possibilities must remain open, including Lieutenant Boo’s direct involvement in a crime or possible complicity, as well as the chain of command’s involvement. The case must be thoroughly reinvestigated from the beginning." He added, "This is a case involving the police, so the police cannot be entrusted with it. As shown in the Jang Yun-gi case, entrusting this case again to police who have covered up cases, fabricated evidence, and protected their own would be like putting the cat in charge of the fish."
Jang said, "The administration has dismantled the prosecution and even eliminated its authority to conduct supplementary investigations, so the only body that can ultimately investigate the case is a special counsel." He added, "The truth must be uncovered through a special counsel investigation."
Referring to former policy chief Kim Yong-beom’s resignation on the 1st, Jang also said that a parliamentary investigation and a special counsel investigation should be pursued over the single-stock leveraged ETF.
Jang said, "Yesterday (the 1st), allegations were even raised that Park Hyeon-Joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Securities, held a drinking party with former chief Kim. Chairman Park is the co-chair of the National Growth Fund’s strategy committee, created by the administration." He argued, "If the reason former chief Kim suddenly resigned was the result of lobbying by Mirae Asset, this is not an issue that ends with his resignation. It is an ETF gate under the Lee Jae Myung administration, and the truth must be established through an investigation."
He added, "The investigation must determine whether the entire policy line—from Cheong Wa Dae and the Office for Government Policy Coordination to the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service—was involved, as well as whether President Lee Jae Myung gave instructions, supported the actions, or bears responsibility." He concluded, "We will move quickly to pursue a parliamentary investigation and a special counsel investigation."
[email protected] Lee Hae-ram Reporter