[2020 National Audit] Park Soon-cheol, Head of Southern District Prosecutors' Office: "Former Chief Prosecutor Reported Opposition Politicians' Suspicions to the Chief Prosecutor in May"... "I Was Unaware of Matters Related to Prosecutors"

On the 19th, at the Ministry of Justice audit held by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the National Assembly, Park Soon-cheol, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, is responding to a question from Kim Jong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by National Assembly Broadcasting System.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] On the 19th, Park Soon-cheol, head of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, stated that the lobbying allegations against opposition politicians by Lime Asset Management, which were exposed by former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun (46, detained and indicted) through a prison statement, "were reported to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and an investigation has been underway." However, he responded that he was unaware of the lobbying allegations involving prosecutors until the reports were released.

During the Ministry of Justice's National Assembly inspection held by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee that morning, in response to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min's question, "Was the lobbying related to opposition politicians reported to the Prosecutor General?" Park said, "I understand that the then head of the Southern District Prosecutors' Office met with the Prosecutor General in May and reported it."

Additionally, when Kim asked, "Did you personally report to the Prosecutor General?" Park replied, "I officially reported to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the end of August," adding, "The investigation was already underway." He further stated, "The Ministry of Justice requested an investigation based on the results of an internal inspection."

However, Park said regarding the lobbying allegations involving prosecutors, "We were also taken aback and only became aware after the announcement."

Following lawmaker Kim, Park Ju-min of the Democratic Party also displayed a PowerPoint (PPT) summarizing the investigation and reporting relationships related to Lime and intensely questioned Park Soon-cheol about whether the Lime case had been reported.

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