Home > National > Politics

DP begins to seek withdrawal of indictments in major cases involving Lee

Published: 08 Mar. 2026, 20:40

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Democratic Party lawmakers shout slogans during a rally, calling for the withdrawal of indictments in major cases involving President Lee Jae Myung, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 23. [YONHAP]

The Democratic Party (DP) has begun to seek the withdrawal of indictments in major cases involving President Lee Jae Myung by launching a parliamentary investigation, drawing criticism from the legal community that the move could undermine the foundations of the judicial system.

A DP special committee plans to hold a policy forum on the abuse of prosecutorial authority on Monday and submit a request for a parliamentary investigation to the National Assembly on Wednesday, according to political sources on Sunday. The special committee was formed to call for a parliamentary investigation into indictments made by the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

The investigation is expected to cover seven cases: the Daejang-dong development case; the Wirye New Town development corruption case; the Ssangbangwool remittance to North Korea case; the political funding case involving Kim Yong, a former vice president of the Institute for Democracy; the alleged manipulation of real estate statistics; the Yellow Sea public official shooting; and a defamation case related to the alleged suppression of the Busan Savings Bank investigation.

Of these seven cases, the Daejang-dong development and Ssangbangwool remittance cases have drawn much public attention and scrutiny. The Daejang-dong development case involves allegations of excessive profits gained by certain private developers during the redevelopment of Daejang-dong in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. Lee served as mayor of Seongnam at the time.

The Ssangbangwool remittance case centers on allegations that underwear maker Ssangbangwool illegally transferred sums of millions of won to North Korea in 2019, allegedly at the request of Lee, in exchange for promised support for the company’s future inter-Korean business projects and to help facilitate Lee’s planned visit to Pyongyang.

Democratic Party lawmakers, including floor leader Han Byong-do, second from left, speak during a party special committee for a parliamentary investigation into indictments by the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on March 5. [NEWS1]

Three of these seven cases involve Lee as a defendant, and trials in those cases have been suspended. Because no first-trial rulings have yet been issued, prosecutors remain legally able to withdraw the indictments under the Criminal Procedure Act.

The DP has left open the possibility of demanding such withdrawals after determining through the parliamentary investigation whether prosecutors conducted improper investigations or fabricated charges.

“Cases in which the prosecution’s fabricated indictments have been clearly revealed should have their charges withdrawn quickly,” said DP leader Jung Chung-rae on Friday, urging the Ministry of Justice to withdraw the cases.

If prosecutors withdraw an indictment, the court does not rule whether the defendant is innocent or guilty and instead immediately dismisses the case. In practice, however, a withdrawal of indictments is extremely rare.

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on March 8. [YONHAP]

Indictments are usually withdrawn only in certain circumstances, such as when there are clear procedural defects, such as duplicate indictments; when a victim in a complaint-based case later states they no longer want punishment; or when the law serving as the basis for punishment has been ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.

“Withdrawal of indictments usually occurs only when there is a clear defect in the conditions for prosecution,” a senior prosecutor in the Seoul metropolitan area said. “If such a precedent is created, prosecutors may end up avoiding indictments in the future except in cases in which defendants confess.”

Some in the legal community argue that political involvement is inappropriate because the withdrawal of indictments is intended to be used only in highly limited situations.

“During more than a decade as a prosecutor, I withdrew an indictment only once, and that was in a case in which it was later confirmed that the prosecution clearly violated the law,” said a lawyer who previously served as a chief prosecutor. “I have never heard of a case in which the withdrawal of an indictment was discussed due to political pressure.”

“The very act of the legislature forming a group to discuss whether prosecutors should withdraw indictments in specific cases completely denies the principle of separation of powers,” said Lee Chang-hyun, a professor at the College of Law at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SUK GYEONG-MIN, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]