Prosecutors' Office Facing Difficult Task... Will It Directly Investigate Allegations of 'Investigation Interference' by Cho Kuk and Park Sang-ki?

Recognition of the 'Illegality' of Withdrawal and Intent of Abuse of Authority Are Key Factors

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and former Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki (from left) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Attention is focused on whether the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) will directly investigate the two former Ministers of Justice, Cho Kuk and Park Sang-ki, who appeared in the indictment of Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and whether their actions will be recognized as abuse of authority exerting undue influence on the prosecution's investigation.

Legally, the key issue will be whether the two were aware of the illegality in the request and approval process for the travel ban on former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, and whether they intended to halt investigations into Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who was dispatched to the Past Affairs Investigation Team at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the time, or the immigration office staff.

On the 17th, the HCIA is reviewing whether to directly investigate the cases of three individuals?former Director of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Bureau Yoon Dae-jin, former Chief of Anyang District Prosecutors' Office Lee Hyun-cheol, and former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Anyang District Prosecutors' Office Bae Yong-won?transferred by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 13th.

Given that conflicts over transfers with the prosecution have been intensifying following the cases involving Chief Prosecutor Lee and Prosecutor Lee, the HCIA would want to investigate them directly, but the practical conditions are challenging.

Out of the 25 prosecutor positions, 10 have yet to be filled. Moreover, the Investigation Division 2, consisting of five prosecutors, has already started investigating the illegal preferential hiring allegations against Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon as the 'first case,' and from the end of this month, six prosecutors are scheduled to undergo four weeks of commissioned practical training at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in Yongin.

The difficulties are not only physical. Although the prosecution transferred the cases of former Director Yoon and others to the HCIA the day after indicting Chief Prosecutor Lee, in fact, former Chief Lee and former Deputy Chief Bae are closer to victims of the crime of abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights.

According to the prosecution's findings, the two who initially approved investigations into Prosecutor Lee and immigration office staff changed their stance after receiving continuous requests to halt the investigation from former Director Yoon, who was acting under the instructions of Chief Prosecutor Lee and the two former ministers.

Rather, the problem lies with the two former ministers, who may have used former Director Yoon as a channel to put the brakes on the Anyang District Prosecutors' Office's investigation. This is why the HCIA's dilemma deepens.

In June 2019, then Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, former Minister Cho, received a message from Lee Gwang-cheol, then Senior Administrative Officer at the Civil Affairs Office, saying, "Prosecutor Lee is about to study abroad soon, but it seems the prosecution dislikes him. Please tell the prosecution to allow Prosecutor Lee to leave the country without being investigated." Former Minister Cho conveyed this message directly to former Director Yoon. This request from former Minister Cho was then passed on to the Chief of Anyang District Prosecutors' Office through former Director Yoon.

Former Minister Park, after receiving a report from Cha Gyu-geun, Head of the Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters at the Ministry of Justice, that immigration office staff were being investigated, strongly reprimanded former Director Yoon, saying, "If you investigate the staff because I ordered them, does that mean you will investigate me too? And does the prosecution still conduct investigations in such a manner?" and ordered an inquiry into the circumstances.

Whether the actions of the two can be seen as exerting undue influence on the investigation team, i.e., abuse of authority, depends on whether they were aware that Prosecutor Lee's travel ban request or the immigration office's approval of the travel ban was illegal, and whether they at least tacitly recognized that their pressure could affect the Anyang District Prosecutors' Office.

Based solely on the facts revealed in the public indictment, former Minister Cho, who held a position overseeing investigative agencies, is more likely to be guilty of abuse of authority than former Minister Park, who ordered an inquiry, because former Minister Cho directly conveyed the request to halt the investigation into Prosecutor Lee to former Director Yoon.

Former Minister Cho is suspected of involvement in the illegal travel ban even before it was carried out, as it is known that he spoke with former Director Yoon late in the afternoon on March 22, the day before the illegal travel ban on former Deputy Minister Kim.

On the 13th, when media reports emerged that the indictment of Chief Prosecutor Lee included content related to him, former Minister Cho posted a brief explanation on his Facebook along with a link to the article, stating, "Since many reporters have been contacting me, I clarify that I have never exerted any 'pressure' or given any 'instructions' related to this matter."

It is unclear whether his statement that he did not give any 'instructions' means that he denies having conveyed the former Senior Administrative Officer's message to former Director Yoon, or that he admits to conveying it but denies exerting undue influence or issuing investigation-related instructions.

If the HCIA re-transfers the three cases it received back to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office or directly investigates former Director Yoon and others without investigating the two former ministers, direct prosecution investigation is expected to be inevitable.

Attorney A, a former prosecutor, analyzed, "If the reported content is true, former Minister Cho's actions could be seen as 'undue influence on the investigation.' The prosecution has thus handed a big challenge to the HCIA. The HCIA is in a difficult position, caught between directly investigating (former Director Yoon and the two former ministers) and transferring the cases back to the prosecution."

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