Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Special probes loom for disgraced ex-president and wife
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Seoul, Monday, to attend the sixth hearing of his trial on charges of abuse of power and an unconstitutional declaration of martial law. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
3 bills passed last week mandate appointment of special prosecutors
Korea’s new government is expected to officially launch three special counsel investigations as soon as Tuesday, targeting former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee. Investigators will focus on allegations ranging from the unconstitutionality of Yoon's martial law declaration to stock price manipulation and election interference.
The investigations come amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and the public demanding accountability after Yoon’s contentious martial law order and a string of high-profile scandals involving his administration and family members.
The three bills passed by the National Assembly on Thursday mandate the appointment of special prosecutors to investigate Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration, Kim’s alleged involvement in financial and election-related misconduct and the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun during a flood rescue operation in July 2023. Chae died while participating in a search-and-rescue mission for missing civilians during heavy rainfall, and the case has drawn public scrutiny over allegations of interference and cover-up attempts by top officials.
Once the bills are promulgated, special prosecutors must be appointed within 11 to 12 days. Investigative teams will have 20 days to prepare before launching full-scale probes. Based on past cases, such as the Choi Soon-sil and Druking investigations, formal investigations are likely to begin in early July.
The scandal involving Choi, who was a confidant of former President Park Geun-hye, gained widespread public attention in late 2016, leading to her impeachment in March 2017. The Druking online opinion manipulation scheme came to light in April 2018.
The scale of the upcoming investigations is unprecedented. A total of 120 prosecutors and investigators are expected to be assigned across the three cases — 60 for the martial law investigation, 40 for Kim Keon Hee’s case and 20 for the case involving the Marine. This marks a sixfold increase from the 20 prosecutors who worked on the 2017 special investigation into Park's confidant, Choi.
The probes will take over most of the current investigations led by the prosecution, police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). While Yoon has been indicted on some of the charges and is already on trial for them, ongoing investigations into related figures — including former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and former military and police officials — are expected to be prioritized by the new special counsel teams.
Once appointed, each special counsel team will have up to 170 days to investigate and file charges. The appointments will follow a structured process involving the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the Rebuilding Korea Party, which will each recommend one candidate. The president will appoint one of the two nominees for each case.
Kim’s case includes 16 different allegations, including stock manipulation involving Deutsch Motors, her alleged use of shamans in state affairs, luxury gift acceptance and election meddling via political fixer Myung Tae-kyun and the so-called “Geonjin Monk.” Prosecutors previously summoned Kim twice but failed to secure her appearance. Whether the special counsel will forcibly summon her remains a key question going forward.
Yoon appeared in court Monday morning for the sixth hearing of his trial on charges related to the martial law declaration. As he entered the Seoul Central District Court, reporters asked him to comment on the election outcome and the launch of the special probes. He remained silent, offering no statement. During the hearing, a former airborne brigade commander again testified that on Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon had ordered military personnel to forcibly remove lawmakers from the Assembly chamber — a claim Yoon has denied.