Special Prosecutor's Office Faces Repeated Controversies Over Inappropriate Conduct... Special Investigator Posts Interrogation Records on Social Media

SNS of Mr. Lee, a Special Investigator for the Comprehensive Special Prosecutor's Office [SNS Capture]

 A lawyer appointed as a special investigator for the second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating remaining suspicions in the "3rd Special Prosecutor" case, is facing controversy for uploading photos of suspect interrogation records to social media.

According to legal circles on the 3rd, Mr. Lee, a special investigator for the Special Prosecutor's Office, posted photos on his social media the previous day, including a photo with Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young, his appointment letter as an investigator, and a photo of a signed suspect interrogation record.

In the text accompanying the photos, Mr. Lee wrote about his motivation for joining the Special Prosecutor's Office, stating, "By gaining investigative experience from the perspective of a prosecutor, my expertise in criminal cases will be maximized." This post has since been deleted.

Mr. Lee also listed his experience as a Special Investigator for the Special Prosecutor's Office (Grade 5 civil servant) on his SNS profile, along with descriptions of being a divorce and criminal lawyer.

The Special Prosecutor's Office can appoint up to 100 special investigators, who receive compensation and treatment equivalent to that of special civil servants in grades 3 to 5.

In response to the controversy, the Special Prosecutor's Office is deliberating on how to handle the investigator.

The Special Prosecutor's Office stated in a press release today, "The Comprehensive Special Prosecutor's position has not yet been decided," and "We plan to discuss this matter tomorrow."

The Comprehensive Special Prosecutor's Office, launched in February, has been embroiled in controversies over inappropriate conduct on multiple occasions.

Previously, Special Prosecutor Assistant Kim Ji-mi was reported to the police by civic groups on charges of leaking official secrets and publicizing investigative details after appearing on a pro-government YouTube channel, "Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory," and mentioning matters related to the investigation.

Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young caused controversy last month on the 14th when it was reported that he told former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook, who had come for a fact-finding interview, "To uproot martial law, we would need to establish a special joint investigation headquarters and work for three years."

The remarks at the time became known after they were released by Choi on a pro-government YouTube channel.

Furthermore, it was revealed that Special Prosecutor Assistant Kwon Young-bin, who is handling the Ssangbangul North Korea remittance case, had previously represented Lee Hwa-young, former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace, and Bang Yong-cheol, former Vice President of Ssangbangul, in related cases, sparking controversy. Due to this incident, the head of the North Korea remittance investigation team was replaced by Special Prosecutor Assistant Kim Chi-heon.

In addition, Special Prosecutor Assistant Kim Jung-min represented former Marine Corps Investigation Detachment Commander Park Jung-hoon as his lawyer. Concerns were raised about potential conflicts of interest as the Comprehensive Special Prosecutor's Office is investigating residual cases from the Special Prosecutor's Office for the deceased Marine's case.