Controversy Over 'Snatch Prosecution' in Choi Kang-wook Case, Assigned to a Single Judge Panel

No Assignment to Three-Judge Panel
Obstruction of Business Charge, Low Sentence if Guilty
Case Itself Not Complex Also Cited as Reason

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The court has assigned the case of Choi Kang-wook, Secretary for Public Office Discipline at the Blue House, to a single judge. Previously, Secretary Choi was indicted on the 23rd on charges of issuing a false internship certificate to the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk.

On the 28th, the Seoul Central District Court announced that the case involving Secretary Choi was assigned to Judge Jang Doo-bong of the Criminal Division 9 Single Judge. The trial date has not yet been set. The reason the court assigned this case to a single judge rather than a panel is analyzed to be because the case itself is not complicated and the charge of obstruction of business applied to Secretary Choi carries a relatively low sentence. According to the Court Organization Act, cases where a death sentence, life imprisonment, or imprisonment or detention for one year or more can be imposed must be assigned to a panel.

Secretary Choi is accused of issuing a false internship certificate to Cho Mo, the son of former Minister Cho Kuk, while working as a lawyer at the law firm Cheongmaek. The prosecution believes that Secretary Choi affixed his official seal on the false internship certificate and then handed it to Professor Jeong Gyeong-shim of Dongyang University. On the other hand, Secretary Choi claims that issuing the internship certificate to Cho was not illegal. In fact, it is stated that the son of former Minister Cho Kuk did assist with drafting documents related to trials at Cheongmaek.

The case involving Secretary Choi caused internal friction within the prosecution even before indictment. It became controversial when it was revealed that Song Kyung-ho, the 3rd Deputy Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and Ko Hyung-gon, head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2, who were in charge of the case, bypassed their direct superior Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and submitted the indictment to the court under the direction of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. The Ministry of Justice referred to this as a "rush indictment" and hinted at internal inspection, while the Supreme Prosecutors' Office countered that it was a "lawful measure."

Secretary Choi also strongly opposed the legality of the indictment, calling it a "prosecution coup." On the day of the indictment, through his defense attorney Ha Joo-hee, he stated, "It is a clear illegal act beyond procedural violation." In the statement released by Attorney Ha, Secretary Choi said, "I have never been notified by the prosecution that I was converted to a suspect," and added, "I will file a complaint against Prosecutor General Yoon and the related investigation team for abuse of authority."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.