When Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae ordered the investigation into the use of special activity expenses of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, the issue of special expenses for the entire legal affairs and prosecutors was raised on the cutting board.



The National Assembly's Legislative Judicial Committee visits the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the afternoon of the 9th to view the payment and execution documents of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Justice.



This time, the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee's access to the special performance expenses stems from the fact that on the 5th, Secretary of State Yoon insisted that it is necessary to check the details of the use of special functions expenses, saying, "We use special expenses like pocket money."



The next day, Minister Chu also ordered the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to investigate the details of the payment and allocation of special expenses for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the prosecutors' offices at each level.



A field investigation was conducted on both sides today, as the judiciary members of the People's Power have announced that they should also verify special expenses for the Ministry of Justice.



However, it is not known to what extent the legal affairs and prosecutors will disclose the details of the execution of special expenses.



Special expenses are expenses directly incurred for collecting information that requires confidentiality, investigating cases, and performing other similar activities in government administration.



We are not obligated to submit receipts or disclose usage information as confidentiality matters.



For this reason, there are concerns that the disclosure of the details of the prosecution's special activity expenses may lead to exposure of investigative techniques.



One attorney from the prosecutor's office said, "The special expenses are investigative expenses, but when the investigative expenses are released, all investigations will come out. It will show the prosecution's hand."



In the past, former Justice Minister Park Sang-sang also replied, "It is difficult to disclose the specific amount and details of execution because the guidelines for the execution of (special support expenses) have a confidential nature," to inquiries by lawmakers asking about the use of special expenses.



In 2017, during the so-called'money bag dinner' case, the use of special expenses by the legal affairs and prosecutors became controversial once, and it has been known that the execution of special expenses within the prosecution has been transparent and strict.



It turns out that the scale of special activity expenses allocated to the prosecution is also decreasing.



According to the legal profession, special training expenses allocated to the prosecution in 2017 were around 17.8 billion won, but this year it has dropped to around 9.4 billion won.



It is reported that a further decrease of 8.4 billion won was set for next year.



It is argued that the fact is wrong about what Minister Chu said, "I heard that the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, where the investigation was concentrated because there is no enforcement standard for special expenses, is feeling trouble."



In fact, it is said that the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office is the largest in the country, so the special expenses are paid the most at 80 to 100 million won per month.



As some pointed out that the Ministry of Justice has routinely used some of the special expenses allocated to the prosecution, it is expected that the facts will be covered by today's on-site inspection.



The prosecution's suspicion of reimbursement of special expenses for the Ministry of Justice was raised in 2017.



At the time, Minister Park Sang-sang dismissed the controversy, saying, "The special expenses for the joint prosecution activities of the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution are not special expenses that should only be transferred to the prosecution office."



(Photo = Yonhap News)