Park Beom-gye "Difficult to Report on Allegations... Will Observe Prosecutor's Actions"

Daegum "Ordered Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and Suwon District Prosecutors' Office to Verify Facts"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 7th, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, repeatedly pointed out the issue of publicizing the suspect's facts, saying, "It is quite difficult for the details of the charges to be reported," regarding the investigation into the 'Cheongwadae-originated planned inspection' allegations surrounding former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui.

On the same day, Minister Park said this during a meeting with reporters at the Ministry of Justice Gwacheon Government Complex, adding, "I understand that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will take respective measures." Earlier, he expressed concern that "certain media outlets are publishing reports that could be seen as publicizing suspect facts related to a specific case," and said, "Based on the minister's command and supervision rights, we will verify the facts and consider follow-up measures."

Minister Park's remarks addressed the issue of some media outlets reporting that the prosecution requested the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to submit the report materials presented to President Moon Jae-in on March 18, 2019, and the reasons for the request. At that time, after receiving reports from the heads of the two ministries, President Moon instructed a thorough investigation into the allegations of sexual bribery involving former Deputy Minister Kim. It is known that the prosecution is investigating the possibility that some false information was included in the report submitted to President Moon and who was involved.

Minister Park said, "In principle, the investigation process should not be disclosed, but it is quite difficult for the details of the charges to be revealed," and added, "Besides the fact that a fact-finding inquiry was sent to the Ministry of Justice, reports have stated that certain charges are being presumed and investigated, but these should be distinguished."

Meanwhile, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced on the same day that it has instructed the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office to verify the facts related to the allegations reported. Previously, on the 31st of last month, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office issued guidelines to all prosecutors nationwide to strictly comply with the regulations prohibiting the disclosure of criminal cases.

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