President Lee Jae-myung has instructed officials to review the creation of a special investigation headquarters for the insurrection case, sources said. The move is seen as reflecting his determination to root out remaining forces tied to the case, on the view that people involved in it are still active.
According to political sources on the 23rd, Lee gave the instruction to review the launch of the special investigation headquarters before departing for the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly. The aim is to settle the matter conclusively, as some suspect that forces behind the insurrection remain within key state institutions and organizations.
Shortly after the Lee administration took office, a task force on upholding constitutional order and government reform was formed at the proposal of then-Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to purge those who sided with the Dec. 3 insurrection, and it conducted its own investigation. But this is the first time a special investigation headquarters has been considered. Under the plan being floated, the police would take charge of the body first, with the organization expanded after the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency launches on Oct. 2.
The presidential office, however, says the plan has nothing to do with Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, with whom it has recently been in conflict.
The opposition immediately pushed back. "We have had a special counsel investigation into the insurrection for a year and a half, so what remaining insurrection forces are they talking about?" People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk said. "They have pulled out the worn-out insurrection card to divert the attention of a public angry over the collapse of state affairs."
