Chagyugeun's Side: "It Is True That We Spoke with Prosecutor Lee Gyuwon Through Civil Affairs Secretary Lee Gwangcheol"... Where Is the Investigation on Lee Gwangcheol?

Cha Gyugeun, Director of the Immigration and Foreign Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Justice. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The side of Cha Gyu-geun, head of the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters, who was indicted on charges including approving the illegal travel ban on former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, admitted to having contacted Lee Gyu-won, a prosecutor of the Past Affairs Investigation Team at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the time, through Lee Kwang-cheol, then Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House.

However, Cha's side denied the allegations that he testified during the prosecution investigation that "Secretary Lee said that Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won would prepare documents such as the travel ban request" and that he instructed Ministry of Justice employees to check former Vice Minister Kim's travel information 177 times.

In a statement released on the 5th regarding media reports about himself, Cha's side stated, "It is true that in the urgent situation at the time, I contacted Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won through Senior Administrative Officer Lee Kwang-cheol."

They added, "There is no fact that I testified during the prosecution investigation that 'Senior Administrative Officer Lee Kwang-cheol called and said that Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won would prepare documents such as the travel ban request.'"

This explanation from Cha's side can be seen as drawing a line against suspicions of Blue House involvement, contrary to some media reports that Secretary Lee played a leading role in the illegal travel ban process against former Vice Minister Kim, stating that Secretary Lee merely connected him with Prosecutor Lee.

However, Cha's side did not disclose in the statement how exactly Secretary Lee introduced Prosecutor Lee or what role he played between the two.

Regarding reports that Cha instructed Ministry of Justice employees to check former Vice Minister Kim's travel information 177 times, Cha's side rebutted, "The 177 checks (actually 154) before former Vice Minister Kim passed through the immigration checkpoint were routine processes during responses to National Assembly inquiries and media, and were conducted based on the judgment of the responsible staff, not by Cha's instruction."

Although Cha distanced himself from suspicions of Secretary Lee's involvement, since he admitted that Secretary Lee connected him with Prosecutor Lee, a key suspect in the illegal travel ban, the prosecution's summons and investigation of Secretary Lee is inevitable.

Meanwhile, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division, which re-transferred the cases involving Prosecutor Lee and Seoul Central District Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon related to the "Kim Hak-ui illegal travel ban" to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, received the case concerning allegations that Prosecutor Lee falsified a report on a meeting with construction businessman Yoon Joong-chun and leaked it to a specific media outlet from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 17th of last month, but has yet to decide whether to investigate directly or re-transfer it.

Under Article 127 of the Criminal Act, the crime of official secret leakage is defined as a "high-ranking official crime" subject to investigation by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division under Article 2, Clause 3, Subparagraph (a) of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Act, allowing the division to investigate directly. Secretary Lee is also suspected of being involved in the process of Prosecutor Lee preparing the "Yoon Joong-chun meeting report."

Depending on Secretary Lee's rank at the time of the incident under the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Act, whether he falls under the division's investigation target may vary, but since there is a recognized connection with Prosecutor Lee's case, which is subject to the division's investigation, there remains a possibility that the division may request the prosecution to transfer Secretary Lee's case.

However, recently, during the process of summoning Seoul Central District Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon to the division for investigation, it was revealed that Chief Kim Jin-wook of the division provided his official car and assigned his secretary as the driver in what was called the "emperor escort," sparking controversy over the political neutrality of the division's investigation into this case. If Chief Kim requests the transfer of Secretary Lee's case, there is expected to be controversy over biased investigation, especially from opposition parties.

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