Anchor: Controversy continues over prosecutors' recent decision not to appeal a district court ruling in the Daejang-dong corruption case. Opposition party lawmakers engaged in a fierce debate during a plenary session on Wednesday over the controversial move and grilled the justice minister. 
Kim Bum-soo has more.  

Report: A district court’s partial acquittal last month of those involved in the Daejang-dong scandal will allow President Lee Jae Myung to sidestep a harsh criminal sentence in a trial of his own. 

At a budget committee meeting on Wednesday, rival parties collided again over the prosecution's controversial decision not to appeal the court's ruling.

Main opposition People Power Party Rep. Bae June-young grilled Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho on why prosecutors had dropped the case, essentially giving up on the prospect of invoking the aggravated punishment act in Lee's separate trial, which is currently on hold.

[Sound bite: People Power Party Rep. Bae June-young (Korean-English)]
"The public knows who actually benefits most from this appeals decision. The trial of the president is now at a standstill ...
"Why did the principle of recovering [criminal proceeds] to the end stop in front of Daejang-dong?"

Ruling Democratic Party Rep. Chung Chin-ook, during the same session, urged the justice minister to remove politically minded pro-Yoon Suk Yeol investigators, accusing them of excessively probing the scandal.  

[Sound bite: Democratic Party Rep. Chung Chin-ook (Korean-English)]
"This case had been consistently conducted through targeted and manipulated investigations, and as this doesn't come out the way they want it, the entire pro-Yoon prosecutors are protesting... "

The justice minister told lawmakers that he had neither issued any instructions regarding the prosecution's decision nor discussed the matter with the presidential office.
 
The development scandal centers on allegations that private asset management companies were allowed to make undue investment profits from a development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province's Daejang-dong district around ten years ago, while Lee was the city's mayor.

Lee stood trial for inflicting losses on the city-run development corporation. However, a court suspended his trial after the June presidential election.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.