Bill removing investigative powers of seconded prosecutors filed day after NEC special counsel launched

Democratic Party withdraws amendment two days later, calls it clerical error

Jang Dong-hyeok: 'Was it really a mistake?'

Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers in discussion
Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers in discussion

A special prosecutor team investigating the National Election Commission nearly lost the investigative powers of its seconded prosecutors just days after launching — after Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers filed an amendment that would have stripped those powers, only to withdraw it two days later.

The Democratic Party said the bill was an inadvertent error made while revising a batch of legislation to align with a new criminal justice framework, but opposition parties were not convinced, asking whether it was "really a mistake."

According to political sources Friday, Rep. Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, filed an amendment to the NEC special prosecutor act on Tuesday. The bill was intended to update relevant provisions — including renaming the Supreme Prosecutors' Office as the Public Prosecution Service — to conform with a new criminal justice system taking effect Oct. 2.

The problem was that the amendment also deleted an exception clause allowing prosecutors seconded to the special counsel team to conduct investigations directly. Article 5 of the supplementary provisions of the current NEC special prosecutor act preserves that right even after the new criminal justice framework takes effect, and also recognizes the evidentiary value of records and statements prepared by those seconded prosecutors.

Had the amendment taken effect as filed, the seconded prosecutors could have been barred from conducting direct investigations, and evidence gathered through their involvement could have been ruled inadmissible in future trials. Fifteen prosecutors are currently seconded to the special counsel team.

Adding to the controversy, the new Code of Criminal Procedure itself already carves out an exception allowing prosecutors seconded to special counsel teams to conduct investigations, even as it abolishes the investigative powers of ordinary prosecutors. That made the Democratic Party's explanation — that the amendment was simply meant to bring the NEC special prosecutor act in line with the new framework — difficult to accept.

The timing deepened suspicions. The NEC special counsel officially launched Monday, the day before the amendment was filed. The team had just begun its full-scale investigation into a range of allegations surrounding the administration of the June 3 local elections, including a shortage of ballots.

As the controversy grew, the Democratic Party withdrew the amendment Thursday — two days after it was filed. Floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee said in a press notice that "in the process of revising 140 bills at once to align with the amended Code of Criminal Procedure, the special prosecutor act amendment was compiled and filed in a way that differed from the agreed intent," adding that the Legislation and Judiciary Committee would withdraw the filed amendment and re-file a bill ensuring that seconded prosecutors can conduct investigations throughout the special counsel period.

The statement amounted to an acknowledgment that a legislative error had occurred. The People Power Party pushed back sharply, questioning whether it was truly a mistake.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok wrote on Facebook that the party had "gone so far as to file a bill stripping the NEC special counsel of investigative powers, and now they call it a mistake," adding that they claimed to have "missed it while tidying up 140 bills at once. Was it really a mistake? A mistake with sincerity behind it?"

Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik held a press conference and lashed out, calling the Democratic Party's filing of the special prosecutor act amendment "a fraudulent act that nullifies the special prosecutor act the ruling and opposition parties agreed on in July," saying the party was going beyond shielding the NEC's incompetence and corruption to "burying the violation of the people's right to participate in elections."

Rep. Ju Jin-woo also wrote on Facebook that "the ink on the NEC special prosecutor act isn't even dry," accusing the Democratic Party of trying to cover up irregularities and corruption at the NEC. "They have certified themselves as being in cahoots with the NEC," he said, demanding the party "immediately stop its attempts to derail the NEC special counsel investigation."

Around 15 prosecutors are currently reporting for duty and participating in the investigation at the NEC special counsel, which launched Monday. The team, established by agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, is authorized to conduct investigations for up to 150 days, with a staff of up to 20 seconded prosecutors and 70 special investigators.


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