Handonghun rebuts Chumiae's Facebook rebuttal again... "Regret repeated distortion of facts and false claims"

Former Minister Chu and Prosecutor General Disagree on Timing of Investigation Supervision Mentioned in Court

Prosecutor General Han Dong-hoon and former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae./Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@, Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon has issued a rebuttal after former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae refuted his court testimony regarding her investigation directives through Facebook.

On the 23rd, Prosecutor Han released a statement titled "Regarding Former Minister Chu Mi-ae's Facebook Claims," pointing out, "Former Minister Chu posted on Facebook for two consecutive days claiming that my court testimony was false because she activated the directive to exclude the Prosecutor General on July 2, which was after the investigation began."

He explained, "However, my court testimony concerned the second search and seizure related to abuse of authority on July 29," adding, "At the time of the July 29 search and seizure for abuse of authority, I perceived it as a politically framed investigation due to the July 2 directive by former Minister Chu and her statements in the National Assembly, which made me feel a greater need to exercise my right to defense."

He further stated, "In addition to activating the directive, former Minister Chu publicly disclosed the suspect's facts in the National Assembly, falsely claimed that there was already substantial evidence, and revealed my charges to the media, subsequently demoting me to the Judicial Research and Training Institute."

Lastly, Prosecutor Han criticized, "It is regrettable that former Minister Chu repeatedly distorts facts to suit her narrative with false claims."

Earlier, on the 21st, Prosecutor Han appeared as a witness in the trial of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, who is charged with abuse of authority under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Yang Cheol-han).

In court, Prosecutor Han testified, "Not providing the cellphone password during the search and seizure was an exercise of my right to defense," and added, "At the time, then Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae activated the investigation directive to proceed with an investigation against me, which I could only perceive as a political investigation, compelling me to exercise my constitutional right to defense."

Regarding his request for the participation of a lawyer during the search and seizure, Prosecutor Han explained, "The minister activated the investigation directive for only the second time in history, and I was humiliatingly demoted to the Judicial Research and Training Institute without any proof of crime," adding, "I suspected they were trying to fabricate the case with a frame, and I thought it would be difficult for the truth to come out without exercising my right to defense." He condemned former Minister Chu's November directive to review the so-called 'cellphone password disclosure law' as "extremely absurd and unconstitutional."

In November of last year, former Minister Chu Mi-ae deferred the suspension of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong, who was indicted on charges of abuse of authority under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and instead ordered the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department to investigate the prosecution process of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong by the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office. She also instructed a review of legislation that would compel the unlocking of cellphone passwords, but this was scrapped due to public opposition.

The day after Prosecutor Han's court testimony, on the 22nd, former Minister Chu posted on her Facebook, "Research Fellow Han Dong-hoon of the Judicial Research and Training Institute claimed that the minister's activation of the investigation directive to investigate him was a 'political investigation.' However, this is clearly not true, so I am correcting the record."

She argued, "The approval and progress of the investigation against Han Dong-hoon were independently determined by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Chief Meeting and the Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team based on evidence and legal principles, and were conducted before the minister's directive was activated," adding, "I issued the investigation directive on July 2 last year, after the cellphone search warrant for Han Dong-hoon was issued and executed, and the directive was merely to ensure that the Prosecutor General kept his promise to withdraw from the investigation, not an instruction on how to conduct the investigation."

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