Prosecution’s Future Committee Begins Further Deliberations ... Jang Ju-young: “Withdrawal of the Indictment in Lee’s Case Is Not Being Discussed at All”

[Financial News] The Committee for Respect for Human Rights and the Future of the Prosecution (the Future Committee), which examines past human rights violations by prosecutors and illegality in the investigative process, began further deliberations on the 5th. Chair Jang Ju-young pushed back against the suggestion that the committee was building a pretext to withdraw the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung’s case, saying it was “not being discussed at all.”
At 3 p.m. that day, the Future Committee held its 17th meeting at the Ministry of Justice in the Government Complex Gwacheon and received reports on the results of supplementary investigations into three cases: the Wirye New Town development corruption case, allegations of statistical manipulation under the Moon Jae-in administration, and the case involving the shooting of a South Korean official in the Yellow Sea.
Speaking to reporters in front of the Ministry of Justice building at around 2:36 p.m. that day, Chair Jang responded to the question, “Isn’t this an effort to build a pretext to withdraw the indictment in President Lee’s case?” by saying, “The Future Committee investigates whether there were human rights violations or abuse of authority in the past exercise of prosecutorial power, discusses what measures are needed to prevent a recurrence, and deliberates on follow-up actions.”
Jang added, “We should focus on these matters. It would be somewhat inappropriate to talk about something that is not being discussed at all right now.”
At the meeting, members are expected to discuss whether to conclude their deliberations based on the investigation results for the three cases for which supplementary investigations were requested. “Once we receive today’s reports, I think the members will discuss whether to consider the fact-finding investigations complete or whether anything needs further investigation,” Chair Jang said.
Asked whether requesting supplementary investigations at the previous meeting meant rejecting the existing results, Jang explained, “It meant asking for matters the members wanted to know more about to be investigated in greater detail, or for gaps to be addressed. We did not send the results back to say they were unacceptable.”
Jang also made clear that the Future Committee could make its own determination on illegality, separately from the fact-finding team’s legal assessment.
Responding to reports that the fact-finding team had effectively concluded there was no illegality, Chair Jang said, “Illegality can look different depending on one’s perspective. The reports contain investigation findings on multiple issues, so this is not something that can be summed up by concluding that there was or was not illegality overall.”
Jang continued, “The fact-finding team made legal assessments on a case-by-case basis. The Future Committee plans to focus primarily on establishing the facts and to make its legal assessments separately.”
Jang also rejected the possibility of overlapping roles following the launch of a special prosecutor investigating alleged fabricated indictments. “The special prosecutor investigates criminal allegations and brings charges if there is a crime, while the Future Committee investigates improper practices, violations of regulations or gaps in regulations, and works to prevent recurrence or deliberates on measures to restore victims’ losses,” Jang explained.
Asked whether the committee might recommend necessary measures to the Public Prosecution Office before the special prosecutor is launched, Jang replied, “That needs to be discussed by the committee. I think we will also discuss whether it would be necessary to make a comprehensive comparison and assessment after all seven fact-finding investigations into cases raised in the parliamentary inquiry have been completed.”
The fact-finding team is reported to have conveyed findings in its first report on the 15th of last month to the effect that, although there had been some negligence, it was difficult to conclude that prosecutors had conducted unlawful investigations or brought unlawful charges. The Future Committee requested supplementary investigations into some issues, and the second report, scheduled for the 29th of last month, was postponed until today because the investigation had not been completed.
Meanwhile, the other committee members who attended the meeting headed to the conference room without offering any notable responses to reporters’ questions.
 
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