Democratic Party Pushes for National Investigation into Alleged Political Prosecutions: What You Need to Know

The Democratic Party’s request for a parliamentary investigation into cases it says may have involved manipulated prosecutions by prosecutors during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration was reported to the National Assembly plenary session. Because the party holds a majority in the Assembly, the probe is likely to begin soon.

Kim Seung-muk, director of the National Assembly Secretariat, said on March 12 that 141 lawmakers, including floor leader Han Byung-do, had submitted the request the previous day under the title “Request for a parliamentary investigation to determine the facts of alleged politically motivated, manipulated prosecutions by prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.”

After filing the request, members of the Democratic Party’s special committee told reporters their aim was to “prevent a second prosecutorial dictatorship,” and they reiterated the need for comprehensive prosecutorial reform.

The probe request covers seven cases: the Daejang-dong case; the Wirye case; the case involving former deputy director Kim Yong; the Ssangbangwool remittances-to-North-Korea case; the West Sea official lawsuit case; the data-manipulation case; and a defamation case involving a journalist and Yoon Suk Yeol. Four of the cases are linked to President Lee Jae-myung. The Democratic Party says that if probes find prosecutors brought charges unlawfully, those prosecutions should be dismissed.