🚨 Special Prosecutor: Temporary Prosecutor System for Independent Investigation

Today Korean Social News | 2025.06.09

📌 Three Special Prosecutor Cases: Success Depends on Qualifications of Special Prosecutors

💬 Three special prosecutor laws passed by the National Assembly - the 'Insurrection Special Prosecutor Law', 'Marine Chae Special Prosecutor Law', and 'Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Law' - will soon be implemented. Each special prosecutor law takes effect immediately upon announcement, starting the special prosecutor appointment process. Representative Lee Seong-yoon from the Democratic Party emphasized that special prosecutors need strong investigation will, rich investigation experience, organizational control, decision-making ability, and trial management skills. These three special prosecutor investigations are much larger than previous cases, with investigation teams expected to reach up to 577 people.

Summary

• Special prosecutors are temporarily appointed prosecutors who independently investigate politically sensitive cases.
• Unlike regular prosecutors, they focus only on specific cases for fair and thorough investigation.
• With three special prosecutor laws passed, Korea will see its largest special prosecutor investigations in history.

1️⃣ Definition

A special prosecutor is a prosecutor specially appointed to independently and fairly investigate specific cases involving politically sensitive matters or high-ranking officials. Simply put, it's a 'temporary prosecutor' created especially for cases that regular prosecutors find difficult to investigate.

This system helps overcome limitations and fairness concerns of regular prosecutor investigations by giving temporary but strong investigative powers for specific cases only.

💡 Why is this important?

• Ensures political neutrality for fair investigation.
• Allows thorough investigation of high-level corruption that regular prosecutors struggle with.
• Contributes to people's right to know and democratic development.
• Creates checks and balances against powerful institutions.

2️⃣ Appointment and Operation of Special Prosecutors

📕 Appointment Process and Qualifications

• Special prosecutors are appointed through strict procedures. The main process includes:

  • After the National Assembly passes a special prosecutor law, the candidate recommendation process begins.
  • Political parties negotiate to select final candidates from a list submitted by the Chief Justice.
  • The President appoints the special prosecutor; if refused, the next candidate is automatically appointed.
  • The appointed special prosecutor forms an independent investigation team to begin work.

• There are qualification requirements to become a special prosecutor. Main qualifications include:

  • Must be a judge, prosecutor, or lawyer with at least 10 years of legal experience.
  • Must have political neutrality and fairness.
  • Must have no conflicts of interest with the case and no recent political party activities.
  • Must have strong investigation will, rich investigation experience, and organizational management skills.

📕 Powers and Scope of Activity

• Special prosecutors have strong investigative powers. Main powers include:

  • Can handle all criminal justice procedures including investigation, prosecution, and trial maintenance.
  • Can exercise forced investigation powers like search and seizure, arrest warrants.
  • Can request documents from related agencies and require appearance.
  • Can request international investigation cooperation when needed.
  • Can form and operate independent investigation teams.

• There are also certain limitations on activities. Main limitations include:

  • Can only investigate cases specified in the special prosecutor law.
  • Investigation period is legally limited with restrictions on extensions.
  • Budget and personnel are limited, which may restrict large-scale investigations.
  • All powers end after investigation completion, making follow-up actions difficult.

Major Issues with Special Prosecutor System

1. Political Neutrality: Possibility of political considerations in appointment process
2. Time Constraints: Pressure to complete complex cases within limited time
3. Budget and Personnel: Difficulty securing resources needed for large investigations
4. Legal Binding Force: Limitations in effectiveness of investigation results and follow-up actions
5. Media and Public Opinion: Influence of media coverage and public opinion during investigation

3️⃣ History and Major Cases of Special Prosecutors

✅ Introduction of Special Prosecutor System in Korea

• The special prosecutor system began being discussed in the 1990s. Main background includes:

  • Political corruption cases in the 1990s increased public demand for fair investigations.
  • Criticism arose that regular prosecutor investigations weren't conducted properly due to political pressure or concerns about superiors.
  • The 'Act on Appointment of Special Prosecutors' was enacted in 2001, creating the institutional foundation.
  • The first special prosecutor was appointed in 2003 for the SK Group slush fund case.

• Various changes occurred during system development. Main changes include:

  • Initially, special laws were created for each case, but a permanent special prosecutor law was enacted in 2014.
  • Appointment methods, investigation periods, and budget scales became more systematic.
  • Appointment procedures and qualification requirements were strengthened to ensure political neutrality.
  • Powers and resource allocation were expanded to increase investigation effectiveness.

✅ Major Special Prosecutor Cases

• Special prosecutors have worked on several important cases. Major cases include:

  • 2003 SK Group slush fund case: Song Du-hwan, Korea's first special prosecutor, was appointed.
  • 2013 National Intelligence Service comment case: Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo investigated NIS election interference allegations.
  • 2017 Park Geun-hye-Choi Soon-sil gate: Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo investigated the state affairs manipulation case that led to presidential impeachment.
  • 2020 Yoon Seok-youl family allegations: Special Prosecutor Heo Ik-bum investigated allegations involving the then Prosecutor General's family.

• Both achievements and limitations of special prosecutor activities emerged. Main evaluations include:

  • Achieved some success in eliminating high-level corruption and checking powerful institutions.
  • Evaluated as contributing to satisfying people's right to know and democratic development.
  • However, time constraints sometimes prevented sufficient investigation.
  • Some cases raised questions about investigation fairness due to political controversy.
  • Some cases had limited effectiveness when investigation results didn't lead to actual punishment.

4️⃣ Related Terms

🔎 Insurrection

• Insurrection is the most serious crime that threatens the nation's existence.
• Insurrection refers to the crime of rioting with the purpose of dividing national territory or disrupting the constitution. Simply put, it means using violence to overthrow the country or destroy constitutional order. It's defined in Article 87 of the Criminal Act, with ringleaders facing death penalty, life imprisonment, or life detention, and conspirators or commanders facing death penalty, life sentence, or more than 5 years in prison.
• Requirements for insurrection include: first, there must be purpose to divide territory or disrupt constitution. Second, there must be rioting, meaning multiple people gathering to commit violence or threats. Third, it must be large enough to actually threaten national existence or constitutional order.
• Insurrection is classified as a special crime to protect national existence and constitutional order, along with the National Security Act. The December 3 martial law incident has raised major social issues about whether insurrection charges apply, with special prosecutor investigation planned.

🔎 Death in Line of Duty

• Death in line of duty means losing one's life while performing official duties.
• Death in line of duty refers to public officials or military personnel losing their lives while performing duties. 'Sun (殉)' means 'to die following' and 'jik (職)' means 'duty', so it means sacrificing one's life for duty. Death in line of duty is recognized as special death during public duty performance, different from ordinary death.
• Requirements for recognition include: first, must be a public official or military personnel. Second, must be related to duty performance. Third, must die during or due to duty performance. Fourth, must not involve intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Recognition brings special promotion, death-in-duty honors, and survivor pensions.
• The recent Marine Chae death case was a death during Marine search and rescue operations, with social issues arising over recognition and alleged pressure during investigation. Special prosecutor investigation is planned for fact-finding, along with discussions about independence and fairness of military investigation agencies.

🔎 Stock Price Manipulation

• Stock price manipulation is illegal activity of artificially manipulating stock prices.
• Stock price manipulation refers to artificially raising or lowering stock prices through spreading false information or large-scale trading to disrupt markets. This is a representative unfair trading practice prohibited by the Capital Markets Act, harming ordinary investors and market fairness.
• Main types include: first, market manipulation through false disclosure or rumor spreading. Second, trading volume manipulation through fake or fictitious trading. Third, closing price manipulation through after-hours large trading. Fourth, unfair trading using insider information.
• Conviction for stock manipulation results in up to 10 years imprisonment or fines up to three times the illegal gains. Civil liability including fines and damage compensation also applies. The Kim Keon-hee Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case involves the president's spouse, creating major political impact, with special prosecutor appointment planned for fair investigation.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What's the difference between special prosecutors and regular prosecutors?

A: The biggest difference between special prosecutors and regular prosecutors is independence and specialization. Regular prosecutors work as part of the prosecution organization under supervision of superiors, but special prosecutors can investigate independently without any superior agency guidance. Also, regular prosecutors handle various cases, but special prosecutors focus only on specific cases for deeper investigation. Appointment methods differ too - regular prosecutors are appointed through the Ministry of Justice, but special prosecutors are appointed according to special laws enacted by the National Assembly. Investigation periods also differ - regular prosecutors have no time limits, but special prosecutors usually work for limited periods around 6 months. Finally, special prosecutors' roles end when their cases finish, but regular prosecutors continue handling other cases.

Q: What effect do special prosecutor investigation results have?

A: Special prosecutor investigation results have the same legal effect as regular prosecutor investigations. Cases prosecuted by special prosecutors are tried in regular courts, with punishment according to court judgments. However, since special prosecutors have limited activity periods, if investigations aren't completed when terms end, cases transfer to regular prosecutors. When special prosecutors make non-prosecution decisions, those are generally final, but re-investigation may be possible if new evidence emerges. Importantly, special prosecutor investigation processes and results have legal basis, so no state agency or individual can ignore or interfere with them. Special prosecutors must also submit final investigation reports to the National Assembly after completing investigations, ensuring transparency and accountability. This allows citizens to know investigation progress and results, enabling democratic control.