검찰인권존중미래위원회의 미래는? [유레카]

According to recent investigations, 8 out of 19 cases involving President Lee Myung-bak have been brought to light by the Presidential Human Rights and Future Commission of the Prosecutorial Agency. Six of these cases involve the defendant, while two involve senior aides. This accounts for 42% of all cases under investigation. As a result, the United Progressive Party has criticized the Commission for attempting to "build up" the case against the president for his removal from office.

The Commission's mandate, however, does not include the power to "dismiss a case." The Commission's primary role is to investigate and make recommendations for preventing recurrence and addressing harm when instances of human rights violations or abuse of power are discovered during prosecutorial proceedings. It is important to note that the Commission's recommendations are advisory, as the courts are the only ones authorized to decide on the facts and credibility of evidence in ongoing trials.

Despite this, the Commission secretly included "dismiss a case" as a new authority during its third meeting on June 26th. This sudden addition of an unauthorised power raises concerns about potential abuse in the future. Moreover, the Commission is not a judicial investigation body, but rather a consultative agency under the Ministry of Justice.

Granting such a power to a non-judicial body could lead to potentially unlawful judgments. Additionally, the ruling party recently passed a "judicial reform" legislation, which some critics argue is an attempt to weaken the justice system. In previous investigations, the Commission did not examine cases where the main perpetrator was involved and ongoing trials were still pending.

For example, the "Union Industrial Strike Dispute" case had 12 preliminary investigation subjects, but the Commission chose not to investigate due to the trial progress of the main suspect, the representative of Creative Consultation. The Commission's name change to "Future" suggests a desire to explore future possibilities, but it remains unclear what that future might look like.