Choo Mi-ae: "Prosecution Deceived Court in Han Myeong-sook Investigation... Yoon Seok-yeol, Birth of Political Prosecution"

"Mohaewijeung, Substantial Evidence Likely Secured"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae characterized the allegations of witness tampering and coaching by the investigation team of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook as "deceiving the court to obtain a ruling favorable to the prosecutors."

On the 18th, former Minister Chu appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' and said, "When I was minister, I ordered an inspection, but since the Human Rights Department only has investigative authority and no prosecutorial power, the case was reassigned there, which I believe was an attempt to conceal the incident," adding, "The recent decision of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to dismiss the charges is also a very irrational decision."

She continued, "Vulnerable inmates were repeatedly summoned for investigations without leaving records, and they were forced to give false statements," stating, "They identified weaknesses of the inmates in advance, collected information, coaxed and persuaded them to give false testimony, and ultimately deceived the court. They deceived the court to forcibly obtain a ruling favorable to the prosecutors."

The day before, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye instructed Cho Nam-gwan, Acting Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, to hold a meeting of department heads to reconsider whether inmate Kim, who testified against former Prime Minister Han, was guilty of witness tampering and whether prosecution was possible. Witness tampering is a provision that punishes a witness who gives false testimony in court with the intent to disadvantage the defendant in a criminal case.

Regarding whether prosecution is possible as the statute of limitations expires on the 22nd, former Minister Chu said, "I heard that the head of the inspection department and Prosecutor Lim Eun-jung, who was in charge of investigating this case, conducted a meticulous and thorough review over five months," adding, "Prosecutor Lim, who was also granted investigative authority, reported a transition to investigation. Although the Supreme Prosecutors' Office did not approve this transition, it was also reported to the Minister of Justice, so I believe substantial evidence has been secured to proceed with the investigation."

She said the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's decision to dismiss the charges was made without reviewing the related records. Former Minister Chu stated, "The head of the inspection department and Prosecutor Lim Eun-jung, who conducted the investigation for five months, were excluded, and those who did not review the records at all made the decision. Could they have even looked at the titles of the thousands of pages of records in just three days?" She added, "I received a report from the Inspection Division 3, which is presumed not to have properly reviewed the records, and such an irrational decision-making process is the real problem."

She emphasized, "If prosecution proceeds according to Prosecutor Lim Eun-jung's investigative conclusion and this is exposed to the public, it will be clear that prosecutorial reform is absolutely necessary," adding, "As a minister who witnessed such anti-human rights acts, I cannot just overlook this."

She also mentioned that during her tenure, she instructed the prosecution to respond to real estate speculation. Former Minister Chu said, "In July last year, when apartment prices surged and there were signs of such trends, and reports emerged that speculative capital was buying entire apartment buildings for rental businesses, I immediately instructed the prosecution to strictly respond to illegal activities related to real estate speculation, such as illegal acts by financial speculative capital through planned real estate, unauthorized development of farmland in restricted development zones like the LH case, and nominee transactions."

She added, "I exercised investigative command authority to guarantee the independence of the Channel A investigation team. Initially, the prosecutors' chiefs' meeting was convened, and there was resistance to accepting the command, but later the instruction was accepted. After that, when I gave instructions regarding real estate, I suspect that under that atmosphere, the response was passive and inadequate."

As a solution to real estate issues, she proposed including a provision for the recovery of unearned land income through constitutional amendment. She said, "The high housing prices are due to social overhead capital investments in specific areas, not because of the individual efforts of the residents," adding, "It is only natural to recover such development gains or excess profits."

Regarding the controversy over her officetel ownership, she said, "The lease period has ended, so I am now using it directly. It is a space where I practically go to work almost daily to engage in political planning for the country's future."

When asked about running for president, she replied, "Since a by-election is approaching, it does not seem appropriate to discuss my personal matters now," adding, "One must reach a level where they can persuade and gain public sympathy, and there must be such a demand. It is not right for me to bring it up first."

Regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, she said, "In short, a political prosecutor like a political soldier has emerged," adding, "To put it simply, I have no interest in former Prosecutor General Yoon. However, I have a heavy sense of responsibility for the progress and development of history, and I believe we must not stand by if history regresses."

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