Prosecutors to Investigate Complainant in MBC 'Geom-eon Yuchak' Allegation Whistleblower Case Next Week

On the 4th, Lee Jong-bae, the representative of the Action Alliance for Establishing the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon), held a press conference in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office regarding the whistleblower accusation related to the 'prosecutor-media collusion' suspicion (right) / Screen capture from Yonhap News TV

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The prosecution, which is investigating the cases related to the ‘Geomeon Yuchak’ (alleged collusion between prosecutors and media) suspicion reported by MBC at the end of March, will summon the head of a civic group who filed a complaint against the whistleblower of the suspicion on charges of obstruction of business for questioning next week.

On the 20th, Lee Jong-bae, the head of the civic group Action Alliance for Establishing the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon), said, “I received a call from the prosecutor’s office investigating the ‘Jeongeon Yuchak’ case, and we have arranged the schedule for the complainant’s questioning,” adding, “I will appear at the prosecution at 2 p.m. next Monday (the 25th) to undergo the complainant’s questioning.”

Earlier, on the 4th, Beopse-ryeon filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office against Ji Mo (55), who was identified as the whistleblower of the ‘Geomeon Yuchak’ suspicion, on charges of obstruction of business.

At that time, Beopse-ryon stated, “Lee Cheol, former CEO of Value Invest Korea (VIK), denied the existence of files related to ruling and opposition party figures in the SillaJen case claimed by the whistleblower during an interview with the media,” and explained the purpose of the complaint, saying, “The whistleblower deceived the Channel A reporter’s investigative work by pretending that non-existent files actually existed.”

They also argued, “There is a reasonable suspicion that the whistleblower set a trap and induced conversations to create the Geomeon Yuchak frame,” and “Considering that the whistleblower is a fervent supporter of the current administration, the essence of this incident is rather close to ‘Jeongeon Yuchak’.”

Currently, the case in which Beopse-ryeon filed a complaint against Mr. Ji is being investigated by the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Jung Jin-woong), along with the case in which the civic group Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media filed a complaint against the Channel A reporter and an unidentified prosecutor who appeared in MBC’s ‘Geomeon Yuchak’ suspicion report, and the case in which former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan filed a lawsuit against MBC regarding the report on the ‘SillaJen 6.5 billion won investment suspicion.’

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol ordered the start of the investigation into the ‘Geomeon Yuchak’ suspicion on the 17th of last month and instructed that the case related to former Deputy Prime Minister Choi, for which a complaint was filed at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, be investigated together at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

Mr. Ji is currently being sued for defamation by former Deputy Prime Minister Choi in relation to MBC’s report on the investment suspicion in SillaJen by the former Deputy Prime Minister.

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