Kim Osu, Prosecutor General Nominee: "Yoon Seok-yeol's Unrestricted Investigation Is a Well-Known Fact"

Nominee for Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 26th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, evaluated that his predecessor, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, conducted investigations without any sanctuary.

On the 26th, at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly main building, when asked whether former Prosecutor General Yoon conducted investigations without sanctuary, Kim replied, "It is a well-known fact that the former Prosecutor General conducted investigations without sanctuary."

When asked whether the prosecution investigates without sanctuary, not fearing the power of the Blue House, he said, "I naturally take to heart the (President's) words to maintain political neutrality and conduct strict investigations."

When asked if he believes the Moon Jae-in administration guarantees the neutrality of prosecution investigations more than other administrations, he answered, "There is such an aspect."

Regarding the criticism that he took cases related to the Lime and Optimus scandals while working as a lawyer, he explained that he never defended the fund-related parties.

When asked if he defended Lime or Optimus-related parties, he emphasized, "I have never defended or been involved in any way with suspects operating Lime or Optimus."

Regarding specifically whom and how he defended, he did not answer, saying, "It may violate the confidentiality obligation under the Attorney-at-Law Act." However, he stated, "As a lawyer, I performed my duties through legal procedures."

Kim also answered "I did not receive reports" when asked whether he received investigation details related to the Lime case during his tenure as Vice Minister of Justice.

According to the case acceptance details of Kim submitted by the Seoul Bar Association to the National Assembly confirmation special committee, after resigning as Vice Minister, Kim worked as an advisory lawyer at a law firm and took on four cases related to the Lime and Optimus suspicions.

These include two cases related to Woori Bank's sale of Lime funds, the case involving Jung Young-chae, CEO of NH Investment & Securities who sold Optimus funds, and four cases including the late Lee Mo, a close aide of former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, who was involved in the election campaign photocopier usage fee payment scandal.

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