Choo Mi-ae Reacts Angrily to Moves to Revive 'Securities Crime Joint Task Force' as "A Place Good at Illegal Investigations"... Calls the First Case of the Corruption Investigation Office "Words That Make One Doubt Their Eyes and Ears"

On January 27, after completing the farewell ceremony, Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice, is moving to take a commemorative photo with employees before leaving the Government Gwacheon Complex. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae rebutted on the 13th against media reports that the Ministry of Justice plans to revive the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, which she abolished during her tenure as minister, describing the unit as “a place that conducts illegal investigations using prisoners who are well-versed in finance,” asserting that her decision was not wrong.

In a post on her Facebook early that day, former Minister Chu pointed out, “Even among power-related crimes, the revival of the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, which had overlooked massive corruption economic offenders, could cause the reforms that had at least taken a step forward to regress, sending the wrong signal, and this should be carefully considered.”

The previous day, JoongAng Ilbo reported under the headline “In the end, Chu Mi-ae was wrong... Push to revive Yeouido Grim Reaper,” expressing concerns from Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye that the ability to respond to specialized crimes in securities and finance is regressing, and that the Ministry of Justice is discussing plans to revive the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, which former Minister Chu abolished early last year, calling it a “hotbed of corruption.”

The report also pointed out that since the abolition of the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, the processing rate of capital market law violation cases referred for investigation by the Financial Services Commission and others last year has been only 10-20%, causing significant setbacks in securities crime investigations.

Following the report, media coverage criticizing former Minister Chu’s abolition of the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit poured in, but former Minister Chu appears to have posted a lengthy message that day to refute these criticisms and appeal that her decision was correct.

She first cited the case of former head of the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit Kim Hyung-jun and lawyer Park, who were arrested and indicted in 2016 for the “high school alumni sponsor case,” stating, “The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, where their corrupt collusion occurred, was known as a place with expertise and exceptional skills in investigating financial crimes, but in fact, it was revealed to be a place that conducted illegal investigations using prisoners who were well-versed in finance.”

She continued, “By providing prisoners with conveniences to leave their cells through ‘dispatch’ from the prosecutor’s office, they obtained criminal information, induced confessions from targeted inmates, sent them on errands, and conducted separate investigations. Such absurd dealings between prisoners, investigators, and prosecutors also occurred. Former prisoners who experienced this refer to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit as a ‘financial crime trading market.’”

Former Minister Chu reiterated that her choice to abolish the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit was not wrong and expressed dissatisfaction with the media coverage.

She said, “As the 67th Minister of Justice, I abolished the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit in January 2020. Instead, I reorganized the system so that the Financial Investigation Divisions 1 and 2 would take over its role. I explained during the National Assembly audit that the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit had become a hotbed of corruption crimes, but even today, people do not believe me, and the opposition party and media have misled the public as if I abolished it to protect regime corruption.”

Former Minister Chu stated, “However, upon hearing recent media reports that the Ministry of Justice plans to revive the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, I cannot help but worry that the tears of ordinary people have not yet dried, former officials will triumph, prosecutors using prisoners will run rampant again, and the black market will reopen.”

She emphasized, “Even among power-related crimes, the revival of the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, which overlooked massive corruption economic offenders, could cause the reforms that had at least taken a step forward to regress, sending the wrong signal, and this should be carefully considered.”

On the same day, former Minister Chu also shared her thoughts on the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) deciding to investigate Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon’s alleged illegal special hiring as its “first case.”

She said, “Now the CIO must respond. Recently, the CIO said it would conduct a peculiar ‘cognizance investigation’ into the ‘progressive superintendent’s hiring of dismissed teachers,’ which is neither a serious crime nor aligned with ordinary people’s sense of justice, making one doubt their eyes and ears. The CIO’s blade should be directed at the enormous crimes where prosecutors covered for other prosecutors and suppressed evidence.”

She added, “I hope they uncover such serious crimes and demonstrate the ‘model case of cognizance investigation.’ So that fairness and justice are alive and breathing, and to show the powerless ordinary people who have lost hope.”

The Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, first established in 2013 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, included specialized prosecutors and investigators for securities crimes, as well as dispatched experts from other agencies such as the Financial Supervisory Service, the Fair Trade Commission, and the National Tax Service. Within seven months of its launch, it investigated 29 securities crime cases, booked 162 people, and prosecuted 126 of them (64 detained and prosecuted), achieving remarkable results.

After relocating to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office the following year, it continued to achieve consistent investigative results, earning the nickname “Yeouido Grim Reaper.” However, as part of prosecutorial reform efforts to reduce direct and cognizance investigation departments, former Minister Chu abolished the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit early last year.

At that time, the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit was investigating cases involving allegations of corruption by ruling party figures, such as the Shiniljen case and Lime Asset Management case, leading to various speculations about the background of its abolition within prosecutorial circles.

Attorney A, a former prosecutor, said, “Former Minister Chu’s abolition of the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit was a measure taken to reduce the prosecution’s direct investigation functions. It is an excessive logical leap to single out specific corruption cases and portray the entire Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit as a hotbed of crime.”

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