The second comprehensive special counsel (Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young) has been examining former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung for several months. The second special counsel has carried out at least 10 search and seizure operations at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and other organizations, based on allegations that Shim was involved in the insurrection and possibly influenced the investigation into former first lady Kim Keon-hee. After the three previous special counsels (insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, and the late Marine Corps Corporal Chae Soo-geun) last year, the second special counsel remains focused on Shim.
The second special investigator is looking into two primary concerns involving Shim. Initially, it is suspected that Shim examined the assignment of prosecutors to the Joint Investigation Headquarters of the Martial Law Command following former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of a state of emergency on December 3, 2024, under the guidance of then-Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, which could be seen as involvement in a significant insurrection effort. Additionally, the special counsel is probing claims that Shim improperly influenced the prosecution’s decision not to immediately appeal the Seoul Central District Court’s ruling to annul Yoon’s arrest in March of last year (misuse of power).
Regarding this, the second special counsel conducted searches and confiscated the office and work computers of senior officials at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on April 23. The next day, April 24, they searched and seized the internal network server “e-Pros” located in Jeonnam-Gwangju. On May 11, the special counsel performed another search at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to examine the procedure of not immediately appealing the court’s decision to revoke Yoon’s arrest. Further searches were conducted on July 3 and August 6.
The special counsel for the insurrection (Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk) also looked into Shim’s alleged role in the emergency martial law last year. However, the insurrection special counsel did not bring charges against Shim. The second special counsel, who took over the case, sought a bench warrant for Shim on July 13 following a three-month investigation. Nevertheless, the court denied the request, noting, “There is inadequate evidence to indicate a risk of evidence destruction.” The special counsel then conducted another search of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on August 6 to gather more evidence.
In addition, the second special prosecutor is looking into claims that Shim applied outside influence and directed the suppression of an inquiry regarding Kim’s alleged stock manipulation at Deutsch Motors, which the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office had dismissed without filing charges in October 2024 (abuse of power). The special prosecutor carried out at least five searches at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on March 23, April 10 and 20, May 29, and July 27.
Some analysts believe that the second special counsel’s attention on Shim is connected to his position as the final Prosecutor General under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Shim held the roles of deputy chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and vice minister of justice during the Yoon era, and he became Prosecutor General in September 2024, stepping down in July of the previous year, two months after the Lee Jae Myung government came into power. Major investigations conducted by the special counsel—such as the emergency martial law, the cancellation of Yoon’s arrest, and the inquiry into Kim—happened while Shim was in office. With the current government’s decision to dissolve the Prosecutors’ Office and restructure it into a public prosecution office, some members of the legal community are questioning, “Is the special counsel targeting Shim as a symbolic figure in the effort to abolish the Prosecutors’ Office?”
Meanwhile, on August 12, the second special counsel indicted former President Yoon and Shin Won-sik, former National Security Adviser, for abuse of power. They are charged with directing public officials from the Office of National Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send messages justifying the December 3 emergency martial law to allied nations such as the U.S., UK, Japan, and the EU. The special counsel also sought a bench warrant for Hwang Woo-sung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and Moon Yeon-chul, former leader of the Marine Corps Security Unit, over allegations of hiding the “VIP fury theory” during the investigation into the death of late Corporal Chae Soo-geun. However, Presiding Judge Lee Jong-rok of the Seoul Central District Court denied the warrants, stating, “There is room for debate regarding the criminal charges.”
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