Six File Petition Against Special Investigation Bill

Six people who are likely to be investigated due to the “BBK special prosecution bill” passed at the cabinet meeting filed a petition to the Constitutional Court Friday.

They also requested an injunction until the bill is made into law.

The petitioners include Kim Baek-joon, a reference of the so-called “BBK financial scandal,” and a former auditor of the Seoul Metro Subway; Lee Sang-eun, a heavy stockholder of DAS, a company allegedly owned in part by the president-elect, and his brother; Kim Jae-jeong, the president-elect’s brother-in-law; and three employees of the Seoul City government and the Korean German Institute of Technology prosecuted by the ruling party for the unfair sale of Digital Media Center (DMC).

On their behalf, two lawyers, Song Jeong-ho, a former Justice Minister, and Lee Seok-yeon filed a petition that claimed, ”The BBK special prosecution bill infringes on the equality stipulated by the Constitution, personal liberty, warrants, the right to have a fair trial, and the benefit of doubt.”

The petitioners pointed out that the bill is the first ever law that targets individuals and disagrees with generality and abstraction of laws, which limits the lawmaking power of the National Assembly.

Additionally, they argued that the requirement that mandates references to be subject to investigation is also against the warrant system on the Constitution, and that the bill was not justice because Lee won the elections in a landslide victory, meaning that the public trusts prosecutors.

Lawyer Lee said, “As the petitioners have already been prosecuted or investigated as references by prosecutors, and are likely to be subject to special investigation, the basic requirements of directness, self-referentiality, and presentation are met.”

Jang Seok-hwa, a lawyer, petitioned against the bill and requested an injunction on December 24, but some experts point out that it is hard to recognize any request eligibility because the petitioners are not the subjects of the bill.

will71@donga.com