Acting Prosecutor General Jo Nam-gwan Accepts Minister Park Beom-gye's Investigation Command... "Held Meeting of Senior Prosecutors Including High Prosecutors"

Cho Nam-gwan, Acting Prosecutor General, is attending the 'Meeting on Investigation Cooperation Regarding LH Employees' New Town Speculation Allegations' held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Acting Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan has accepted the investigative directive from Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye regarding the witness in the trial of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook.

However, Acting Prosecutor General Cho decided to hold a meeting of the heads of departments at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in accordance with Minister Park's directive, while involving frontline high prosecutors with extensive case handling experience and insight to enhance fairness and improve the maturity of deliberations.

On the 18th, Acting Prosecutor General Cho expressed his position to reporters that he would accept the investigative directive issued by Minister Park the previous day.

The day before, Minister Park instructed Acting Prosecutor General Cho to have the Supreme Prosecutors' Office heads' meeting deliberate on whether there is evidence of perjury by Mr. Kim, who testified as a witness in the political funds law violation trial of former Prime Minister Han from 10 years ago, and the possibility of indictment.

In his statement, Acting Prosecutor General Cho first explained the process by which the Supreme Prosecutors' Office closed the case with a decision of no charges.

He stated, "This case was finally resolved on the 5th under my responsibility with a no-charge opinion. Reviewing the process, since there were diverse opinions within the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, to ensure fairness and make a rational decision, we initially considered a 'Special Investigation Advisory Group' composed of external experts."

He added, "However, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department opposed this, so we had no choice but to make the final decision through a 'Meeting of Six Senior Researchers' composed of senior researchers from various departments of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Researcher Im Eun-jung was also given the opportunity to express her opinion but declined to attend voluntarily."

Acting Prosecutor General Cho said, "In handling this case, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office did its best to ensure fairness and uncover the substantive truth following rational decision-making guidelines. However, we humbly accept the Minister's directive pointing out shortcomings and will promptly convene the 'Supreme Prosecutors' Office Heads' Meeting' for re-deliberation, listen to explanations and opinions from the Inspection Department Chief, Researcher Im Eun-jung, and others involved in investigation and record review, and conduct thorough discussions."

This indicates that Acting Prosecutor General Cho accepted Minister Park's investigative directive to hold the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Heads' Meeting to review whether to indict Mr. Kim, including hearing opinions from Inspection Department Chief Han Dong-su and Inspection Policy Researcher Im Eun-jung.

However, Acting Prosecutor General Cho stated that to ensure fairness, frontline high prosecutors would be invited to attend the meeting in accordance with relevant guidelines.

He said, "There are concerns both inside and outside the prosecution that a meeting consisting only of department heads working at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is insufficient to guarantee fairness. Given the complexity of the case and legal issues and the extensive records, we will involve frontline high prosecutors who have rich experience in case handling and insight and represent the collective intelligence within the prosecution to enhance fairness and improve the maturity of deliberations at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Heads' Meeting."

He also added, "Meanwhile, the joint inspection directive from the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office regarding illegal and improper investigative procedures and practices raised during the investigation of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's case, although the disciplinary statute of limitations has passed, will be actively accepted and faithfully implemented."

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office plans to finalize and announce the specific meeting schedule soon. Since Mr. Kim's statute of limitations expires on the 22nd, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Heads' Meeting is expected to be held as early as the 19th.

Following Acting Prosecutor General Cho's decision, six frontline high prosecutors?Cho Sang-chul, Seoul High Prosecutor; Oh In-seo, Suwon High Prosecutor; Kang Nam-il, Daejeon High Prosecutor; Jang Young-soo, Daegu High Prosecutor; Park Sung-jin, Busan High Prosecutor; and Koo Bon-seon, Gwangju High Prosecutor?are also expected to attend the meeting and express their opinions on this case.

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