Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ha arrives at Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, for a second-instance sentencing hearing in the case involving allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration's Cheong Wa Dae interfered in the Ulsan mayoral election. [Yonhap]
Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ha arrives at Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, for a second-instance sentencing hearing in the case involving allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration's Cheong Wa Dae interfered in the Ulsan mayoral election. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Justice's Committee for a Prosecutor's Rights-Respecting Future — known as the Prosecutors' Future Committee — has selected the so-called "Ulsan mayoral election directed-investigation allegations" case for formal inquiry, following a request by Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ha.

The committee notified Hwang's office Thursday that it had designated the Ulsan case — which Hwang had asked last month to be selected for investigation — as a matter requiring fact-finding, and said it plans to formally recommend an inquiry to its investigation panel this month.

The Ulsan case centers on allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration's Cheong Wa Dae systematically intervened in the June 13, 2018, local elections to help Song Cheol-ho, a former Ulsan mayor and longtime acquaintance of former President Moon, win the race.

Prosecutors indicted Song and Hwang on charges including that Song conspired with Cheong Wa Dae ahead of the election to ask Hwang — then the Ulsan police chief — to investigate Kim Gi-hyeon, a People Power Party lawmaker and former Ulsan mayor who was Song's rival candidate.

A first-instance court found the charges against both men proven, ruling that "Song Cheol-ho used the police and the presidential secretariat — public powers — for political gain," and sentenced each to three years in prison. An appeals court acquitted both, however, finding "no evidence to support the prosecution's charges." The Supreme Court's Second Division, presided over by Justice Oh Gyeong-mi, upheld the acquittal last year.

Hwang submitted a proposal to the Prosecutors' Future Committee last month through his attorney, calling the Ulsan case "the epitome of fabricated investigation and targeted indictment by prosecutors" and urging the Ministry of Justice to conduct a fact-finding inquiry to expose the abuse of prosecutorial power.

On July 30, the committee notified Lee Gyu-won, the Rebuilding Korea Party's regional committee chair for Wonju, and Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Cha Gyu-geun that it had selected the "emergency travel ban imposed on former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui" case as requiring fact-finding — a case for which both had submitted proposals. The committee also notified Lee's office that it had selected the "Cheong Wa Dae-orchestrated crackdown investigation" as a subject requiring fact-finding.

The Prosecutors' Future Committee ran a public submission drive from June 16 to July 4 to identify cases for investigation. Before the first round closed, it extended the deadline to July 18. The committee plans to review submitted cases and recommend those it deems in need of fact-finding to its investigation panel.

Established by the Ministry of Justice to examine human rights violations that occurred during prosecutorial investigations, the Prosecutors' Future Committee selected seven cases for its first round of inquiry: the Ssangbangul North Korea funds transfer case, the Daejang-dong case, the case involving former Democratic Research Institute Vice Chairman Kim Yong, the Wirye new town case, the case of a South Korean civil servant shot dead in the West Sea, the statistics manipulation case, and allegations of false reporting defaming Yoon Suk Yeol.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has assembled an investigation panel at the committee's request. The panel is expected to conduct additional fact-finding on cases recommended by the Prosecutors' Future Committee alongside the original seven. However, some in legal circles have expressed doubt that the panel can complete its work within its 90-day mandate.


bell@heraldcorp.com