Prosecution’s Future Committee again asks fact-finding team to revise report: “Address outstanding issues” (Roundup)

[Financial News] The Ministry of Justice’s Committee for the Future of Respect for Human Rights in the Prosecution Service (Future Committee) has again asked a fact-finding team to make revisions in connection with allegations of prosecutorial abuse of power in cases including the development corruption case in Wirye New Town, in which President Lee Jae Myung was indicted.
The Future Committee held a closed-door meeting at 3 p.m. on the 5th at the Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon City, Gyeonggi Province, and received a report on the fact-finding team’s supplementary investigation into three cases: the Wirye New Town case, allegations of statistical manipulation under the Moon Jae-in administration, and the shooting of a South Korean civil servant in the West Sea.
It was understood that a final decision had been postponed after some committee members asked the team to “further verify the facts and reflect them in the report.” The meeting ended at around 6:30 p.m., three and a half hours later.
After the meeting, Future Committee Chair Jang Ju-young told reporters, “I conveyed the view that they should incorporate any incomplete or unclear points and produce a more thorough report,” adding, “The fact-finding team said it would incorporate the (members’) views and prepare the report again.”
He added, “Once the fact-finding investigation is complete, the committee plans to discuss and decide on measures and follow-up steps,” and said, “It is difficult to determine the timing at this point because the fact-finding results first need to be reported.”
Chair Jang did not answer a question asking specifically which points he considered incomplete.
Earlier, on the 15th of last month, the fact-finding team reported to the Future Committee its conclusion that it was difficult to find evidence of illegality in the prosecution’s investigations into the three cases.
The conclusion was that, although there had been some negligence during the investigations, no clear evidence was found that the investigation teams had deliberately manipulated the cases to bring charges.
The Future Committee then called for a supplementary investigation and held another meeting on the 29th of last month, but no report was delivered because the fact-finding team had not completed its supplementary investigation. The next meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on the 12th.
Meanwhile, as Chair Jang attended the meeting that day, he responded to criticism that the roles of the Future Committee and the Special Prosecutor for Fabricated Prosecution overlapped. “The special prosecutor investigates criminal acts and brings charges when there are grounds to do so, while the Future Committee’s role goes beyond that: it also investigates improper practices and gaps in regulations, develops measures to prevent recurrence, and deliberates on measures to help victims recover,” he explained.
[email protected] Yoo Seon-jun Reporter