‘Han Myeong-suk Mohae Perjury’ No Charges... Ruling Party Strongly Criticizes for “Turning a Deaf Ear to Justice and Truth”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Democratic Party lawmakers strongly opposed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's decision through an expanded executive meeting to clear the investigation team of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook of allegations of witness tampering and emphasized the need for prosecutorial reform.

Shin Dong-geun, a senior member of the Democratic Party, wrote on Facebook on the 21st, “The prosecution has once again demonstrated how skilled they are at protecting their own, showing their solid capabilities,” and criticized, “This confirms why prosecutorial reform must continue.”

He added, “If the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) had been established earlier and handled this case, such an absurd conclusion would not have been reached,” emphasizing, “It has become even clearer that the only solution is to limit the prosecution’s investigative powers by separating investigation and prosecution.”

Lawmaker Kim Yong-min also criticized the prosecution on Facebook, calling it a “pitiful conclusion.” He said, “The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s chief meeting, led by Cho Nam-gwan (acting Prosecutor General), concluded with a decision not to indict. It is a pitiful conclusion that turned a deaf ear to the desperate voices calling for justice and truth,” adding, “I feel that prosecutorial reform has not even properly begun yet. It is a feeling of standing at the starting point of a long tunnel of prosecutorial reform.”

He further stated, “We will create a system that will eliminate the prosecution’s distortion of truth and protection of their own from history.”

The “Han Myeong-sook investigation team’s witness tampering allegations” surfaced in April when a petition claimed that the prosecution’s investigation team in 2011 had coerced inmate Kim, a colleague of the late Han Man-ho, former CEO of Hanshin Construction, to testify in court that “Han Man-ho said he gave money to Han Myeong-sook.”

On the 5th, after a meeting, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office concluded that “there is insufficient evidence to recognize the charge of witness tampering” and cleared the case. Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, for the first time since his appointment, exercised his investigative directive authority and ordered a joint special inspection of the allegations by the Ministry of Justice’s Inspection Office and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Inspection Department.

However, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office ultimately decided to dismiss the charges against the inmate accused of witness tampering and reported this to the Ministry of Justice on the 21st. Accordingly, the allegations of witness tampering and coaching related to the former Prime Minister Han’s case have been finally closed. The statute of limitations for this case expires at midnight on the 22nd.

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