Prosecution Summons Lee Gwang-cheol and Im Jong-seok... Second Clash with Ministry of Justice Expected (Comprehensive)

Prosecutors Summon Lee Kwang-chul, Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary, for Investigation Today
Former Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok Scheduled to Appear Tomorrow
Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho Absent Due to Health Reasons
Baek Won-woo and Park Hyung-chul Expected to Be Indicted Soon
Regime Investigation Team Resolves to Conclude in Remaining '3 Days'
If Minister Choo Exercises Investigation Command, 'Regime-Prosecution' Conflict Likely to Escalate

On the 24th, when the summons of Professor Jung Kyung-shim, wife of Justice Minister Cho Kuk, is imminent, the prosecution flag in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, is fluttering in the wind. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyung-min and Song Seung-yoon] The prosecution investigating allegations of election interference by the Blue House is intensifying its efforts by summoning and questioning key figures one after another. The prosecution is expected to complete the investigation soon and decide whether to indict these individuals. Although the Ministry of Justice is reportedly considering invoking its 'investigation directive authority' to curb the prosecution's investigations related to the administration, the prosecution is maintaining a swift and steady course. A second direct confrontation between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution is anticipated during the indictment decision process for major figures.

The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun) summoned Lee Kwang-chul, Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, for questioning on the morning of the 29th. Before appearing at the prosecution, Lee met with reporters and explained, "I explicitly stated my position regarding the summons by sending registered mail to the prosecution twice, on January 13 and 17," addressing media reports that claimed he had not responded to the prosecution's summons.

Lee also said, "I think anyone would realize that the claim I turned off my phone to avoid the prosecution's calls is nonsensical if they think about it for a moment," adding, "I am very curious about who and for what reason is leaking only half-truths about me."

Lee is suspected of being involved in the production of intelligence by the Blue House and the process of transferring the case to the police, which formed the basis of the investigation into allegations of misconduct by close aides of former Ulsan Mayor Kim during the 2018 local elections. The prosecution suspects that Lee was involved in the process where former Ulsan Deputy Mayor Song Byung-gi reported the corruption intelligence about Kim's aides to the Blue House, which then transferred the case to the police. It is also known that the prosecution named Lee as an accomplice in violation of the Public Official Election Act in the arrest warrant request for former Deputy Mayor Song. The prosecution questioned Lee in detail about this during the investigation.

Tomorrow morning (the 30th), a summons and questioning of former Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok is also scheduled. Im, who had delayed appearing before the prosecution, announced on his SNS that morning, "I will appear at the prosecution as a suspect tomorrow (the 30th) morning," and added, "I have decided to disclose the entire process of this case." Im was previously suspected of pressuring former Democratic Party Supreme Council member Im Dong-ho, a rival in the party primary against Mayor Song, to withdraw from the primary.

The prosecution had also planned to summon Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho for questioning that morning, but the summons was canceled after Mayor Song notified the prosecution of his absence due to health reasons. Once the investigations into these individuals are completed, the prosecution is expected to indict all three by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office investigation team, which is investigating allegations of obstruction of inspection involving Yoo Jae-soo, also plans to indict former Secretary for Civil Affairs Baek Won-woo and former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyung-chul soon.

President Moon Jae-in nominated Yoon Seok-yeol, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, as the candidate for Prosecutor General. This can be seen as a reaffirmation of his commitment to continue pursuing the tasks of eradicating deep-rooted corruption and prosecutorial reform. By appointing a strong reform-minded prosecutor to lead, he aims to accelerate efforts to eliminate corruption while also pushing forward prosecutorial reforms, such as the adjustment of investigative authority, which has stalled amid conflicts between the prosecution and the police. This determination is clearly reflected in the fact that this appointment is a very unconventional move that goes against the usual order of seniority. The photo shows the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 16th of last month. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The prosecution is showing an attitude of wanting to complete this entire process within the next three days. The intense confrontation between the prosecution and the Ministry of Justice will reach a critical point within these three days. The so-called 'administration investigation team' will be disbanded as of February 3. Accordingly, the investigation team is reportedly prepared to bypass even the approval of the Central District Prosecutor General if necessary to proceed with indictment procedures. This is backed by Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who has the authority under the Prosecutors' Office Act to direct and command individual investigation teams.

On the other side, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's actions are a variable. Legal circles speculate that the invocation of the 'investigation directive authority' by Minister Choo is imminent. The directive authority, along with personnel authority, is one of the main powers Minister Choo can use to pressure the prosecution. By publicly exercising this authority, Minister Choo could instruct Prosecutor General Yoon to "dismiss prosecution" regarding the indictments planned against ruling party figures.

If the directive authority is exercised, it would be a major event not seen since former Minister of Justice Cheon Jeong-bae in 2005. At that time, Minister Cheon directed the prosecution investigating Professor Kang Jeong-gu, who was charged with violating the National Security Act for remarks such as "The Korean War was a unification war by North Korea," to conduct the investigation without detention. Then-Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin responded by resigning.

While the Ministry of Justice's directive authority is a mechanism to check prosecution investigations, it is also criticized for leaving room for government interference in investigations. Within the prosecution, it is widely interpreted that whether to comply with the minister's directive authority depends on the discretion of the Prosecutor General, making it a non-binding provision. Thus, the exercise of the directive authority is likely to spark further controversy. If, as in the case of former Prosecutor General Kim, the Prosecutor General responds to the directive authority by resigning, the conflict between the administration and the prosecution will reach its peak.

For now, Minister Choo sent an official letter to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 28th, instructing them to seek external opinions and make rational decisions regarding the investigation team's indictment opinions. Specifically, she directed, "To enhance public trust in case handling, actively utilize internal consultative bodies such as the chiefs' meetings currently conducted by the prosecution, as well as external committees like the Prosecutorial Investigation Deliberation Committee."

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