Ruling Democratic Party of Korea members of a parliamentary inquiry committee submit a bill calling for a special counsel probe into alleged fabricated prosecutions under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration at the National Assembly in Seoul, April 30. Joint Press Corps

A special counsel bill proposed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) would allow an independent counsel to withdraw indictments in ongoing trials, a provision now at the center of debate over its impact on court proceedings.

The bill, introduced on Thursday, calls for an investigation into alleged fabricated investigations and indictments under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

It designates 12 cases for review, including the Daejang-dong and Wirye development projects — large-scale land development schemes launched during President Lee Jae Myung’s tenure as mayor of Seongnam that have since become among the most politically sensitive issues in South Korea — as well as the Ssangbangwool remittance case, which centers on allegations that a private firm transferred funds to North Korea.

The proposal follows a parliamentary inquiry led by the ruling party, which claimed that prosecutors may have relied on coercive questioning, selective investigations and distorted evidence.

The DPK argues that an independent probe is needed to reassess whether those cases were handled properly.

At the center of the controversy is a provision allowing the special counsel to decide whether to maintain indictments. In practice, this would allow the counsel to drop charges in cases already brought to court.

Under Korean law, prosecutors can only withdraw indictments before a first-instance ruling. In reality, such decisions are rare and are typically limited to cases where the charges cannot be sustained.

The bill goes further by allowing the special counsel to take over cases already under trial. It also requires prosecutors assigned to those cases to follow the counsel’s direction. If the special counsel withdraws an indictment, the case would end without a court ruling, leaving no judicial determination on guilt or innocence.

The main opposition People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, Oh Se-hoon, center, and the Reform Party's Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate, Cho Eung-cheon, right, meet at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul, Monday, to discuss their response to a special counsel bill proposed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea over alleged fabricated investigations and indictments under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Yonhap

Source: Korea Times News