President Lee Jae-myung on the 18th asked the National Assembly to strip a proposed special counsel of the power to take over and dispose of existing indictments, saying the investigation should focus solely on establishing the facts.
"Among the special counsel's powers, please delete the provisions on transferring and disposing of already-indicted cases, and focus only on uncovering the truth," Lee said at a news conference at the Blue House.
"I am not the only person harmed by excessive investigations and indictments pursued for political purposes under the previous government," he said. "For cases where such malicious fabrication of investigations is suspected, I believe it is right to establish the facts through a special counsel."
"If investigative agencies under my command were to do that work, it would invite misunderstanding," he said. "The National Assembly should move quickly to reveal the truth fairly and transparently through a special counsel in these suspected fabricated-indictment cases."
Lee said the proposal had instead triggered a dispute over withdrawing the existing charges. "It is a matter that could be handled according to law, principle and common sense, but it has unnecessarily become a political issue that obscures the substance, and I find that regrettable," he said.
"I want to make a clear request to the National Assembly," he added. "Please focus only on fact-finding." He also asked lawmakers to "take steps so that an unnecessary controversy over withdrawing indictments does not arise."
