Acting Prosecutor General Lee Jung-hyun has left open the possibility that prosecutors could withdraw charges in cases involving President Lee Jae-myung, while making any decision conditional on an ongoing fact-finding review. Speaking on his first commute to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in the role, Lee said the review's findings would need to be examined first.
The evidentiary burden on the inquiry
The inquiry is being conducted by a fact-finding group under the Justice Ministry's prosecution reform committee. Its work includes scrutiny of the Ssangbangwool remittance investigation and related prosecutions. Lee's answer did not announce a withdrawal or set a timetable, but it established the review as a possible basis for a later prosecutorial decision.
The distinction matters because a withdrawal by prosecutors would be separate from the proposed special-prosecutor legislation debated by the governing party. President Lee had asked lawmakers to remove a charge-withdrawal provision from that bill. The acting chief's comments indicate that the prosecution may still consider its own authority after the inquiry reports.
Any move involving a sitting president's case would face intense scrutiny over legal consistency and institutional independence. Supporters of a review argue that alleged investigative misconduct must have consequences if substantiated. Critics will ask whether the same standard would apply to defendants without political power and whether a new leadership team is revisiting litigation for political reasons.
The inquiry's written findings are therefore the key document. They will need to identify any misconduct, connect it to particular charges and explain why the remedy should affect a prosecution already before the courts. Until that record is available, Lee's statement is best read as a procedural opening rather than a concluded decision.