Democratic Party floor leader acting representative Chun Jun-ho and members of the special investigation committee are submitting the "Special Prosecutor Act for Investigating Fabricated Indictments by Yoon Suk-yeol's Political Prosecutors" to the National Assembly's legislative affairs office on the 30th. [Yonhap News]

As controversy arises over the unconstitutionality of the "Special Prosecutor Bill on Suspicions of Fabricated Investigations and Indictments by the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration" proposed by the Democratic Party, concerns are also emerging within the prosecution, which is already facing a severe staffing shortage, that large-scale personnel dispatch is virtually impossible.

According to legal circles, a total of 69 prosecutors had resigned by the end of last month. In the 1 year and 4 months since last year, 244 individuals have left the prosecution.

In addition, the currently operating Prosecutor General's Special Investigation Team and the teams handling the maintenance of indictments for the rebellion, Kim Keon-hee, and the deceased Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor teams already involve a dispatch of 67 personnel.

With the impending abolition of the Prosecutor's Office, the number of prosecutors "transferring" to the judiciary is gradually increasing amidst a surge in workload and a diminished sense of pride.

In the new judicial officer appointments targeting those with over 5 years of legal experience, 32 former prosecutors were appointed last year, an increase of 18 from the previous year, marking a record high. This number is expected to be surpassed this year.

One prosecutor at the frontline stated, "There are reports that an unprecedented number of prosecutors applied for the written legal document evaluation, which is a condition for applying for judicial officer appointments, and over 100 were accepted."

In this situation, if the special prosecutor bill passes the National Assembly, additional prosecutors will have to be dispatched, inevitably exacerbating the prosecution's staffing shortage.

According to the special prosecutor bill proposed by the Democratic Party, the investigation personnel will total 357, including 30 dispatched prosecutors and 170 special investigators, making it the largest scale ever.

In particular, if the special prosecutor takes over cases that the prosecution has already indicted and are currently on trial, prosecutors who were originally responsible for maintaining indictments can continue to perform their duties under the special prosecutor's direction, meaning the actual number of dispatched prosecutors could far exceed 30.

Consequently, voices of discontent are rising within the prosecution, saying, "There are no more prosecutors to dispatch." Currently, at district prosecutor's offices that have deputy chief prosecutors (large branch offices with deputy chief prosecutors), the actual number of working staff is about half of the total authorized strength, leading to the expression "bankrupt district prosecutor's office."

There are also predictions that no prosecutors will volunteer for dispatch due to the significant controversy surrounding the unconstitutionality and illegality of the special prosecutor bill, as well as the fact that the special prosecutor targets the prosecution organization itself.

Legal circles express concerns that this special prosecutor bill deviates from the original purpose of the special prosecutor system and violates the principle of equality and the prohibition of conflict of interest.

If the bill passes the National Assembly as originally proposed and a special prosecutor is launched, the special prosecutor can take over cases where prosecutors are maintaining indictments and perform the indictment maintenance duties (including decisions on whether to maintain an indictment).

Of the total of 12 cases designated as subjects of investigation in the special prosecutor bill, 8 are cases in which President Lee Jae-myung was indicted.

If cases are not transferred by the heads of agencies and 15 days pass, they are automatically transferred to the special prosecutor. Furthermore, if a prosecutor in charge of maintaining an indictment disobeys the special prosecutor's direction, they can be excluded from their duties and a lawyer responsible for maintaining the indictment can be designated.

A prosecution official stated, "This effectively grants greater authority to the special prosecutor than to the Minister of Justice, whose investigative authority is limited to individual cases through the Prosecutor General." So far, the withdrawal of indictments has only occurred in very exceptional cases.

The provision that allows for the review of presidential records with a warrant from a district court judge, not just a high court judge, and the establishment of a dedicated warrant judge at the Seoul Central District Court to exclusively handle special prosecutor warrants is also viewed by legal circles as potentially violating the principle of equality.

Criticism has also been raised that the provisions allowing for the expansion of investigations to cases discovered during the investigation process, and the mitigation or exemption of penalties for those who confess or report others even if they are guilty, are no different from separate investigations or attempts to induce testimony that the ruling party has criticized the prosecution for.

Cha Jin-ah, a professor at Korea University School of Law, commented, "If the bill passes the National Assembly as originally proposed, it appears that prosecutors may file for a dispute over authority or a request for a constitutional review."

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office [Yonhap News]