A fact-finding team under the Ministry of Justice's Committee for the Future of Human Rights in Prosecution reported that it found no serious legal violations in the investigation and indictment of three cases, including the Wiryae New Town development corruption case in which President Lee Jae-myung was indicted. The team did flag procedural problems in some compulsory investigations, however, drawing attention to how the committee will rule on the matter.
According to legal sources on the 15th, the fact-finding team reported its findings on three of the seven cases in its first round of review at a committee meeting held that day — the Wiryae New Town development corruption case, the shooting death of a government official in the Yellow Sea, and the alleged manipulation of statistics. The team is understood to have concluded that it found no serious legal violations in how prosecution teams handled the investigations and indictments.
The team is also said to have pointed out procedural problems in some compulsory investigations, including searches and seizures. In one of the cases reported that day, a search warrant listed only a smartphone storage device as subject to seizure, but the investigation team attempted to seize other electronic devices as well before stopping after the suspect's side objected, according to sources. No such seizure was carried out.
"Even when a search and seizure goes beyond the scope of a warrant, courts sometimes rule the material to be illegally obtained evidence and refuse to admit it," a legal source said. "Procedural defects can actually work against prosecutors at trial."
With the team reporting procedural problems but no serious legal violations, the decision now rests with the committee. The panel reviews whether human rights were infringed or authority abused in the exercise of prosecutorial power, and it can recommend measures such as remedies for victims if problems are confirmed.
Interest centers on whether the committee's ruling will lead to a recommendation to withdraw the charges against President Lee. Observers say an immediate conclusion is unlikely, however, given that no serious legal violations were confirmed in the cases reported and that findings have yet to emerge on the remaining four cases, including the Daejang-dong development corruption case and the Ssangbangwool cash transfer to North Korea.
Some suggest the committee could reach a more critical judgment independent of the team's report. The committee is chaired by Jang Joo-young, former president of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, with members including Kim Hye-kyung, a professor at Keimyung University, and Oh Byung-doo, a professor at Hongik University. With some members viewed as advocates of prosecution reform, concerns about the political neutrality of the review have been raised since the body was launched.