May 2026: South Korea’s National Assembly to Investigate Allegations of Prosecutorial Misconduct Under Yoon Suk-yeol

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The Democratic Party’s so-called “Special Parliamentary Probe into Alleged Fabricated Indictments by Political Prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration” is expected to run through early May, after lawmakers moved the plan into the plenary session on the 21st.

The main opposition, the People Power Party, launched a filibuster, calling the investigation an attempt to whitewash the president’s alleged crimes. Nonetheless, the Democratic Party, which holds an overwhelming majority, is expected to close debate on the 22nd and adopt the plan.

The National Assembly placed on the plenary agenda an investigation plan submitted by the Special Committee for Fact-finding on Alleged Fabricated Indictments by Political Prosecution during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

According to the plan, the probe will review the prosecution’s investigation and indictment processes in cases including: the Daejang-dong development corruption allegations; the Wirye new-town development corruption allegations; allegations that Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, accepted money; the Ssangbangwool remittances-to-North-Korea case; alleged manipulation of real estate and other statistics; the West Sea shooting of a government official; and alleged false reporting intended to defame former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The plan says the investigation aims to uncover the truth about alleged fabricated investigations and indictments carried out by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s political prosecutors against opposition figures, political rivals, former government officials, and journalists.

It also calls for probing alleged organized involvement and case planning by the prosecution, the Ministry of Justice, and the presidential office chain of command, as well as allegations that state agencies downplayed, concealed, or manipulated information during investigations and prosecutions.

The investigation period is set at 50 days, running until May 8, which is 26 days before the local elections. Targeted judicial bodies include the Supreme Court, the Seoul High Court, the Suwon High Court, the Seoul Central District Court, the Suwon District Court, and the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court. Investigative targets also include the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, the Suwon High Prosecutors’ Office, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.

The probe will also cover government and public bodies such as the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Financial Services Commission, the National Intelligence Service, the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation. About ten companies, including Ssangbangwool and Hoban Construction, will also be subject to investigation.