Ministry of Justice Keeps Indictments of 13 People in 'Cheong Wa Dae Election Interference' Case Confidential

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The Ministry of Justice has decided not to disclose the indictment against 13 individuals, including Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan, who were indicted on suspicion of Blue House-directed investigations and election interference.

On the 4th, the Ministry of Justice announced through a press release to the press corps, "Regarding the National Assembly's request for submission of the indictment, the Ministry of Justice has comprehensively considered the criminal defendants' right to a fair trial, the protection of the honor and privacy of those involved in the case, and the possibility of disclosure of facts concerning suspects under investigation, and has decided not to submit the original indictment."

The Ministry of Justice also added, "In the future, for other cases as well, we will adhere to the principle of providing materials related to the summary of the charges instead of the original indictment based on the same standards, and strive to ensure that the human rights and procedural rights of defendants and those involved in the case are fully protected."

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is wearing glasses at the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office on the 28th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

However, the Ministry of Justice explained that only materials containing the summary of the charges were submitted to the National Assembly in accordance with regulations prohibiting disclosure of criminal cases. Previously, lawmakers including Kwak Sang-do of the Liberty Korea Party had requested the Ministry of Justice to submit the original indictment for the 13 individuals who were prosecuted in connection with election interference suspicions. The indictments had been transferred to the Ministry of Justice via the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, but the Ministry of Justice had not submitted the indictments to the National Assembly until now.

While there have been cases where the prosecution refused to submit indictments to maintain the confidentiality of follow-up investigations, it is very unusual for the Ministry of Justice itself to decide to keep indictments undisclosed. In cases that have attracted social interest, indictments have been disclosed in response to the National Assembly's requests for materials. The Ministry of Justice has generally submitted indictments to the National Assembly on the day of prosecution or within a week at the latest when requested. Some in the legal community criticize this, suggesting that the Ministry of Justice is blatantly taking measures that align only with the current administration's preferences.

The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun) indicted 13 individuals without detention on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act on the 29th of last month, including Mayor Song Cheol-ho, former Ulsan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Song Byung-gi, former Ulsan Police Chief Hwang Un-ha, and former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo.

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