Reorganized Prosecution Begins Work... Investigation of Minister Choo Mi-ae?

Today, Transfer Report to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office
Investigation Team Replaced Amid Allegations Against Vice Minister Choo's Son and Abuse of Authority... Attention on Outcome

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] On the 3rd, the prosecution leadership and staff handling important cases such as Cho Kuk and the Ulsan mayor changed to new faces and began full-scale work. Attention is focused on the future development of investigations, especially since Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, who completely reshaped the prosecution lineup, is also a subject of investigation.

Middle managers such as deputy chiefs and chief prosecutors who were transferred by personnel orders on the 23rd of last month reported to their new workplaces and started work on the morning of the 3rd. Among them, middle managers of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office reported their transfer to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at 11:30 a.m. Prosecutors newly appointed this year are also scheduled to be commissioned in the Ministry of Justice's underground auditorium in the afternoon and attend the reporting ceremony at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

The large-scale reorganization of the prosecution and the replacement of the leadership inevitably affected ongoing investigations to some extent. In particular, as attention is focused on how investigations targeting the administration, such as allegations of election interference by the Blue House, will proceed, prospects for investigation trends related to Minister Choo are also divided. Minister Choo was reported to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office by the Liberty Korea Party over allegations of covering up her son's failure to return from military leave during his service. The Eastern District Prosecutors' Office assigned this case to the Criminal Division 1 for investigation.

Her son, A (27), served as a 'KATUSA' soldier in 2017 when Minister Choo was the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea but did not return to his unit after leave. There are allegations that Minister Choo exerted external pressure on the unit to cover up this incident. At the time of case assignment, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hong Seung-wook and Chief Prosecutor Kim Yang-soo were transferred to other offices. Instead, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Nam-woo and Chief Prosecutor Yang In-cheol newly took charge of the investigation. Since the newly appointed middle managers need some time to receive and understand the case details, the investigation may be somewhat delayed.

The Public Investigation Division of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is investigating Minister Choo's 'abuse of authority' accusation. On the 9th of last month, Minister Choo was reported by the Liberty Korea Party and the Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea, among others, along with Lee Sung-yoon, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, on charges including 'abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights' related to prosecution personnel appointments. This investigation, known to be in its early stages, is also expected to be significantly affected by personnel changes. At the time of case assignment, the investigation leaders of this department were Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Jin-dong and Chief Prosecutor Lee Geon-ryeong, but from this day, they were replaced by newly appointed Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Yang-soo and Public Investigation Division Chief Prosecutor Cha Beom-jun.

The investigation into the Blue House's 'election interference' allegations may also target Minister Choo in the future. The prosecution is investigating on the premise that the Democratic Party side was also involved in the Blue House's interference in the 2018 Ulsan mayoral election. Minister Choo was the Democratic Party leader at that time. Previously, in relation to this, the prosecution summoned Jeong Jin-woo (53), a former deputy chief of the Democratic Party's secretariat, as a witness on the 2nd and 14th of last month. The prosecution suspects that Jeong acted as a link between Song Cheol-ho, the Ulsan mayor, and the Blue House during the local elections. This investigation is now led by Chief Prosecutor Lee Geun-soo, who newly took charge as the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, but since Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun of the Public Criminal Division 2, who played a practical role from the early stages of the investigation, remains in place, it is expected that the investigation will proceed as originally planned.

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