Former Chief Prosecutors Urge Prosecutors' Future Committee to Immediately Halt Attempt to Secure Court Records

"No Right to Access or Copy Records Under Criminal Procedure Act... Clearly Illegal"

Fresh Objection to Investigation of Seven Cases Including North Korea Remittance

Former chief prosecutors have called for a halt to the efforts by the fact-finding team of the Prosecutors' Human Rights Respect Future Committee to secure court records, claiming that such attempts constitute "a clear illegal act that undermines the independence of the judiciary and the fairness of trials."

Sungho Jeong, Minister of Justice, attended the launch ceremony of the Prosecutors' Human Rights Respect Future Committee held at the Ministry of Justice in the Gwacheon Government Complex on the 10th and took a commemorative photo with the appointed committee members. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On July 21, former Suwon District Prosecutors' Office chiefs Hong Seungwook, Kim Youcheol, and Shin Bongsoo, along with former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief Song Kyungho, issued a statement asserting that "the fact-finding team is seeking to secure records from ongoing court trials, such as the North Korea remittance case."

They argued that under the current Criminal Procedure Act, only defendants and their attorneys can apply to view or copy records of ongoing trials, and that neither a directive from the Ministry of Justice nor a Supreme Prosecutors' Office guideline can expand the statutory authority to access these records.

They further expressed concern, stating, "We are worried that the leadership of the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Prosecutors' Office may be pressuring frontline prosecutors to provide records without clear legal grounds or written directives." The former chiefs insisted that supplying or collecting trial records without a legal basis could lead to criminal liability, such as abuse of power, interference with the exercise of rights, disclosure of official secrets, or violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.

They emphasized that "attempts to pressure fellow prosecutors who are struggling with the legal basis should be immediately stopped." Earlier, on July 8, they also expressed opposition, stating that the activities of the fact-finding team amounted to interference in ongoing trials.

The Prosecutors' Human Rights Respect Future Committee was launched on June 10 to investigate allegations of human rights abuses and prosecutorial power abuse. The investigation covers seven cases, including the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, the Daejang-dong case, the case of former Vice President Kim Yong of the Institute for Democracy, the Wirye New Town case, the shooting of a public official in the West Sea, statistical manipulation, and suspicions of false reporting of defamation against President Yoon Suk Yeol.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.