People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun criticized the Democratic Party on Wednesday for adopting the so-called "fabricated indictment" special prosecutor act as its official party position on Tuesday, saying the move amounted to dressing up a presidential "shield" as truth-seeking.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Yoon said the Democratic Party adopted the "fabricated indictment" special prosecutor act as its party line on Tuesday and is pushing to bring it to a plenary session vote Thursday. "The plan is to send the existing bill to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and then delete provisions related to the withdrawal of indictments in the bill subcommittee," he said.

Yoon said the Democratic Party's proposed revisions still preserve the core framework of reinvestigating the prosecution agencies that indicted the president and those close to him. He said the scope of the investigation would cover cases linked to the president — including the Daejang-dong development scandal, SBW's illicit funds transfers to North Korea, the Seongnam FC case and charges of suborning perjury — as well as the case involving former Democratic Research Institute Vice Chairman Kim Yong.

Yoon also said that under the publicly disclosed revision plan, a special prosecutor's office of 309 staff members would operate for up to 200 days, including a preparation period. "What happens if the special prosecutor concludes that the existing investigation was 'fabricated,' and the ruling party uses that finding to pressure prosecutors into dropping the charges?" he said. "It could become a detour that creates the justification for withdrawing indictments without doing so directly."

Yoon said it is a longstanding principle of the rule of law that no one can be a judge in their own case. "Yet the bill as currently drafted would have the president appoint the special prosecutor from among candidates recommended by the political parties," he said. "Are they asking the public to trust the judgment of a special prosecutor chosen by the president?"

He said the legality of indictments and the credibility of evidence must be determined in court, and that even if a separate investigation into prosecutorial misconduct were warranted, the ruling party's legislative power and the president's appointment authority must not be used to pressure the courts. "The Democratic Party must stop forcing through the special prosecutor act," he said. "Attempting to use political power to shed judicial burdens is precisely the path by which a government hastens its own downfall."


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