<Anchor> In



Korea, there is a system called 'permanent special prosecutor'.

When the Minister of Justice requests that a special prosecutor be conducted on a case, the president appoints a special prosecutor and entrusts the investigation.

With the recent passage of a bill that drastically reduces the prosecution's investigation authority, it is predicted that the next government may utilize the permanent special prosecutor system.



More details will be provided by reporter Im Chan-jong.



<Reporter> During the Park Geun-



hye administration, the permanent special prosecutor system, introduced by the ruling and opposition parties, has the advantage of being able to investigate faster than the special prosecutor through separate legislation, but it has never been operated except for the Sewol ferry special prosecutor last year.



However, there are observations that the next government can use the permanent special prosecutor as a countermeasure to reduce the prosecution's investigative powers.



[Han Dong-hoon / Candidate for Minister of Justice (15th of last month): The permanent special prosecutor system is already one of the duties assigned to the Minister of Justice.

I promise that the handling of business will be fair and the same for everyone.]



The permanent special prosecutor, which is operated at the request of the Minister of Justice or the resolution of the plenary session of the National Assembly, can decide on the case to be investigated by the Minister of Justice, and the candidate recommendation committee includes the Vice Minister of Justice and the ruling party Take the initiative.



The appointment of the special prosecutor is the responsibility of the president, so the special prosecutor appointed by the president investigates the case selected by the Minister of Justice.



Up to 5 incumbent prosecutors and up to 30 public officials from related institutions can be dispatched, and several can be operated at the same time, effectively operating multiple existing special prosecutors' departments.



The suspicion of the development of Daejang-dong, which has been criticized for insufficient investigation, and the suspicion of Seongnam FC, which the police have dismissed once, are considered as possible cases of the introduction of the permanent special prosecutor.



[Park Beom-gye/Minister of Justice (last March 30): I think a special prosecutor is necessary in the direction of ensuring fairness (Daejang-dong case).

(Is there any plan to operate a permanent special prosecutor under the authority of the Minister of Justice?) Let’s review.]



However, if a permanent special prosecutor is not created for investigations unfavorable to the government, controversy over selective operation is inevitable, so it is expected that the decision to operate depends on the president’s decision. is.



(Video coverage: Seol Min-hwan, video editing: Park Chun-bae)