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Former Minjoo Party Leader Kim Jong-in (left) shakes hands with former Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung at ‘Conservatives and Progressives Seeking Reform Together’

Figures from all sectors of society are demanding an investigation into South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is the central figure in the Choi Sun-sil scandal (Choi is a close confidante of President Park). While the government and investigative authorities maintain that Park cannot be investigated because of her immunity from criminal prosecution during her presidency, quite a few politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties contend that Park should be investigated even if she cannot be indicted.

The main argument offered to justify investigating Park is that “charged” should be interpreted to mean “indictment.” Though Park cannot be indicted, the argument goes, she can be investigated, which is the step before indictment.

“The president is only immune from a criminal charge during her tenure [according to the Constitution], but there is no legal reason whatsoever that she cannot be investigated by a special prosecutor,” said Rep. Kim Yong-tae on Oct. 27. Kim is a lawmaker with the ruling Saenuri Party who is not a part of the party’s pro-Park wing. Supporting this argument is the view that Park and Choi Sun-sil disrupted the constitutional order by abusing the president’s constitutional powers for private ends.

The opposition Minjoo Party has also made clear that it thinks Park should be investigated. “The Blue House needs to be included in the scope of the special investigation. Since the president is at the center [of the Choi Sun-sil scandal], we can’t get to the bottom of that scandal unless she is questioned,” said Park Wan-ju, deputy floor leader of the Minjoo Party.

The government and investigative authorities have hinted that the concept of “prosecution” includes both indictment and investigation. Speaking at a plenary session of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Oct. 26, Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong said, “While there may be many positions on whether investigation is included in the President’s non-prosecution privilege, the majority view is that he or she cannot be the subject of investigation.” Kim backed off slightly in response to a lawmaker outcry, saying he had “merely shared the majority view.” When asked whether Park would be included as an investigation target, Lee Yeong-ryeol, the chief of a special headquarters set up among prosecutors to investigate the allegations about Choi Sun-sil, answered only that she “cannot be criminally charged.”

The Minjoo Party of Korea countered that an overwhelming majority of Constitutional scholars agree the President can be the subject of an investigation during his or her term. In an issue briefing, party spokesperson Keum Tae-sup said, “There is merely the opinion that the President cannot be indicted during his or her tenure, which means arrest and detention is forbidden and he or she cannot be subjected to forcible investigation such as search and seizure, but there is no disagreement that he or she can be the subject of voluntary investigation [such as being visited for questioning].”

Saenuri Party lawmaker Chung Jong-seop, a member of the National Assembly’s Park wing and a Constitutional scholar, wrote in his “Constitutional Law Theory” that “investigation [of a President] by investigative bodies is possible. Because the collection of evidence becomes impossible over time, investigative bodies must be able to conduct investigations at any time even for criminal acts perpetrated during a President’s term.”

Others claims that regardless of legal principles on charges, Park should pledge to cooperate with an investigation after her Oct. 25 acknowledgment and apology for the activities of behind-the-scenes power brokers.

“Submitting to a special prosecutor’s investigation to resolve the situation for good would be the least she could do in terms of decorum toward history and the public,” said lawmaker Kim Yong-tae.

“The president should make a pledge to the public to submit to an investigation where nothing is off limits,” said lawmaker Park Wan-su.

Meanwhile, the Saenuri and Minjoo Parties began detailed negotiations after their agreement on Oct. 26 to appoint a special prosecutor. Senior deputy floor leaders for the three main political parties met at the National Assembly that afternoon for their first official talks on the format and time period of the special prosecutor’s investigation. The Saenuri Party proposed the permanent special prosecutor established in 2014, while the Minjoo Party countered with calls for a separate special prosecutor through enactment of what they called a “law on the appointment of a special prosecutor, etc., for investigation of the allegations surrounding Choi Sun-sil, a civilian who violated the Constitution and monopolized government.” The People’s Party continued its objections to a special prosecutor, claiming such an investigation would be “ineffective.”

By Lee Jung-ae, staff reporter

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