A random drawing of 15 members of the Audit Review Committee… The entire process, including the list and meeting minutes, is kept private

The water depth committee ‘Ms
A decision is expected before Lee Won-seok retires on the 13th of next month.
Political circles: “List of committee members must be made public”
檢, they did not accept 4 out of 15 recommendations

As Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok decided to seek an outside expert’s opinion regarding suspicions of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s wife Kim Kun-hee receiving Dior bags, a summoning process will begin and the Prosecutor’s Investigation Review Committee debate in earnest. week. Prosecutors plan to complete the selection of members by the middle of this week at the latest and then announce a hearing date, and wrap up the case before President Lee’s retirement ceremony ( the 13th of the following month).

Of the 15 times the Scrutiny and Review Committee has been held since it was introduced in 2018, 11 times the decision of the Scrutiny and Review Committee was the same as the position of the prosecution, and 4 times it was differ not only on the decision of the Committee of Investigation and Review on the case of Dior Bag, but also whether the prosecutors will accept its recommendations.

● 15 people selected via ‘lotto draw machine’, private consideration

The Attorney General’s Office has begun to establish an investigative investigative committee. The Examination Review Committee is held by randomly selecting 15 out of 150 to 300 members (2-year term) pre-selected from various fields such as academia, the legal profession, and the media. The method is to put balls with numbers written on them into a machine similar to a ‘lotto drawing machine’ and then former Constitutional Court judge Kang Il-won, chairman of the investigation review committee, select 15. It is expected that the writing will be ready by the middle of the week at the latest.

Even if you are selected by lottery, if you are unable to attend, a new member will be selected again. If you have a close relationship with the suspect or the person involved, you can avoid it yourself. In this case, members are drawn again. Once the member selection process is complete, a hearing date is set, and the investigation team and the parties submit written comments or attend a hearing date in person to make presentations. to do The decision is decided by the agreement of a majority of the members present. It is expected that Ms. Kim’s case will take approximately two weeks to go through this process and reach the final disposition of the charge.

The main question that the Audit and Review Committee will review is whether the Dior bag received by Ms. Kim was related to her duties as president. In addition to whether President Lee violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the transfer’s employment relationship and whether he violated the Attorney General Act are also important. A ‘special mediation fee’ is also likely to be an issue. This is because, according to High Court precedent, the act of giving money or valuables based on ‘vague expectations’ is not a crime of bribery.

The entire process of the audit and review committee, from the list of members and elections to the minutes of meetings, is confidential. In the political world, there is an argument that the list should be made public because the political leanings of the members could change depending on the government. Last August, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in an administrative lawsuit filed by a plaintiff against the Gangwon Police Agency, requesting that an investigation committee list and review of the police to publish. At the time, the court ruled, “There is no evidence that publication of the list would cause a ‘significant impediment’ to the fair performance of duties,” and the second trial also rejected the police’s claim, and case- Law of appeal in progress. . A prosecuting official explained, “It is managed not to focus on a particular job or area.”

● The Samsung event is not accepted, the Itaewon accident is accepted.

The prosecutors took the same steps recommended by the Scrutiny and Review Committee for 11 of the 15 cases handled by the Scrutiny and Review Committee. In 2020, when Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was in office, prosecutors charged former Chief Prosecutor Kim Dae-hyun, who was his superior, as recommended by the Investigation and Review Committee in connection with the case of the late prosecutor Kim Hong. – young, who made serious choices due to verbal abuse and assault by an adult. Former Chief Prosecutor Kim was sentenced to eight months in prison.

In four cases, including Samsung Electronics President Lee Jae-yong’s suspicion of the Samsung C&T-Cheil Industries merger, prosecutors did not follow the recommendations of the Investigation and Review Committee. The Investigative Review Committee held at the request of Chairman Lee in June 2020 recommended not to convict with the consent of 10 out of 13 members. However, the prosecution opposed Chairman Lee without detention, and the first trial in February of this year found Chairman Lee not guilty.

The legal community is also paying attention to the case of former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho, who was released without detention for the ‘Itaewon disaster’ related to the Dior bag incident . This is because in both cases, President Lee convened the investigative investigation committee ex officio despite the investigation team’s verdict of “not guilty and not charged”. Prosecutors reversed their policy of not indicting former Commissioner Kim, accepted the recommendation of the investigative review committee, and sent him to trial.

There are conflicting opinions within the charge regarding sending the Dior bag case to the investigation and review committee. An official from the prosecution said, “It seems that the judgment of an outside agency is needed to resolve public suspicion.” On the other hand, another official said, “Since President Lee is personally on a team creating a special investigation and directing the investigation, the audit review committee’s call is an avoidance of responsibility.”

Reactions from the ruling and opposition parties were also mixed. Hwang Jeong-ah, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Korea, said, “It is clear that this will end up as a formality to justify the prosecutor’s decision to ‘acquit’.” On the other hand, Kim Hye-ran, a spokesperson for the People’s Power Party, said, “We believe that it is a procedure that ensures the legitimacy of procedures and the trustworthiness of public. “

Yu-geun reporter song big@donga.com
Reporter Heo Dong-jun hungry@donga.com
Reporter Lee Chaewan chaewani@donga.com