Cho Kuk flags constitutional concerns over fabricated indictment special counsel bill

Cho Kuk, head of the Innovation Policy Research Institute of the Rebuilding Korea Party, pointed out on the 6th that the 'fabricated indictment' special counsel bill pushed by the Democratic Party carries constitutional risks. The Democratic Party countered that the claims contain no unconstitutional or unlawful elements.

In a Facebook post on November 6, Cho Kuk, head of the institute, argued that Article 6 of the bill's supplementary provisions 'raises constitutional and legal problems by applying an outdated Criminal Procedure Act that has already lost effect.' Article 6 stipulates that matters related to the investigative and supervisory powers of the special counsel, deputy special counsel, and seconded prosecutors follow the pre-amendment provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act. Under the amended Criminal Procedure Act (effective October 2, 2026), prosecutors' direct investigative powers are, in principle, abolished.

Kim Han-gyu also rebuffed the People Power Party's position. He noted that the seconded prosecutors on the special counsel team for the National Election Commission, launched in September, are subject to the same provision. He argued that it is inappropriate for the party to demand that only the seconded prosecutors on the fabricated indictment special counsel team be denied investigative powers after having passed the NEC special counsel act through bipartisan agreement.