Reports have said that President Lee Jae-myung is considering ordering the establishment of a special investigation headquarters for the insurrection case.
However, reports also followed stating that the head of the National Office of Investigation described this as “the first I’ve heard of it.”
It is necessary to clearly distinguish between the plan under consideration and an investigative organization that has actually been launched.
3-Line Summary
1. The establishment of the special investigation headquarters is at the consideration stage
2. The National Office of Investigation said there had been no separate order
3. The consideration and the launch must be viewed separately
Reports of the President’s Consideration and the Plan Under the Police
An editorial in the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that President Lee Jae-myung was considering ordering the formation of a special investigation headquarters for the insurrection case. It said the plan under discussion involved establishing the special investigation headquarters under the police and expanding the organization after the Serious Crime Investigation Agency launches.
What can be confirmed here is that a plan to “consider ordering its establishment” was reported. This does not mean that the special investigation headquarters has already been created or begun an investigation. No information was presented confirming the organization’s establishing authority, timing, or scope of investigation.
An editorial in the Segye Ilbo also introduced that the president was considering ordering the establishment of a separate investigative team. Both editorials evaluated the establishment of the special investigation headquarters critically, but those evaluations must be read separately from the facts. Judgments regarding effectiveness and political context raised by the editorials are the opinions of the respective media outlets.
The National Office of Investigation’s Response: “No Separate Order”
On September 28, ChosunBiz reported that the head of the National Office of Investigation said “the first I’ve heard of it” regarding the possibility of forming an “insurrection special investigation headquarters.” The title of an MBC News report from the same day also said that the National Office of Investigation had stated there was no separate order from the presidential office and that it was reviewing cases being transferred to it.
This response shows that, at least at that point, the National Office of Investigation did not appear to be at the stage of having received and implemented an order to form the special investigation headquarters. This is because reports of the president’s consideration and an actual order to the police investigative organization are different stages.
The National Office of Investigation is the organization responsible for police investigations. Therefore, even if discussions of a new special investigation headquarters continue, whether it is actually established and which subjects it investigates must be confirmed through a separate decision and official announcement. Based only on the information presented so far, it is difficult to conclude that the “insurrection special investigation headquarters has been launched.”
Proposal for a Permanent Organization Following Two Special Counsel Investigations
An editorial in the Kyunghyang Shinmun explained that two special counsel investigations had investigated the 12·3 insurrection case. The subjects were the Special Counsel Team of Special Counsel Cho Eun-seok and the Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Team of Special Counsel Kwon Chang-young, and it reported that Special Counsel Kwon had proposed establishing a permanent special investigation headquarters when announcing the investigation results, saying that the nature of the crime of insurrection required a long-term investigation.
The special counsel’s proposal was an opinion calling for the creation of an investigative organization, not a decision that the organization had immediately been established. An editorial in the Segye Ilbo wrote that several current and former public officials and military personnel had been indicted and were standing trial in the earlier special counsel investigations. The investigations and trials already under way and the consideration of establishing a new special investigation headquarters must each be viewed separately to avoid confusing the progress of the case.
The most important standard in this discussion is simple. Regardless of support for or opposition to the need for a special investigation headquarters, it is important to distinguish whether an official order was issued to the National Office of Investigation and whether the actual organization has been launched.
References
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