Prosecutors and Public Corruption Investigation Office, Conflict Over 'Prosecutor Cases' May Recur

The Corruption Investigation Office Begins Review of Former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun's Bribery Case... Controversy Over Overlapping Investigations with Prosecution in Kim Hak-eui Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Another spark has ignited in the conflict between the prosecution and the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (Gong-su-cheo). This occurred as Gong-su-cheo took over and began reviewing the bribery case of former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun, who was so-called the 'sponsor prosecutor.' In the past, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office investigated the allegations against former Chief Prosecutor Kim but did not recognize it as bribery and closed the case, so there is a possibility that Gong-su-cheo may present new investigation results.

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office recently transferred the case involving former Chief Prosecutor Kim, who is accused of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to Gong-su-cheo.

Former Chief Prosecutor Kim is accused of receiving bribes totaling 40 million won in three installments from March to September 2016 in exchange for covering up criminal charges against Park, a lawyer who was a colleague in the prosecution. Previously, Kim was arrested and indicted for receiving entertainment and hospitality over several years while providing investigative favors related to Kim, a middle and high school classmate, and in 2018, the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of one year imprisonment with two years probation.

The charges transferred to Gong-su-cheo this time were matters that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office had investigated under the suspicion of Kim being a sponsor but did not recognize as bribery and closed the case.

In the legal community, considering that the police sent the case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment and that the prosecution deliberated for nearly eight months before transferring it, there is a high expectation that Gong-su-cheo will launch a direct investigation. Moreover, since its establishment, Gong-su-cheo has focused its investigative efforts on cases involving prosecutors, targeting over 90% of the cases it has registered.

The problem arises if Gong-su-cheo reaches a different conclusion on a matter that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office had closed. Given the ongoing conflicts between the prosecution and Gong-su-cheo over case transfers since its inception, if Gong-su-cheo overturns the prosecution's investigation, it could escalate into another conflict. A prosecution official also predicted, "(Gong-su-cheo) has judged that cooperation between the two agencies is practically difficult, so it will conduct its own investigation and eventually review the case in a direction different from the previous investigation."

Furthermore, the standoff between the two agencies has reached its peak over the transfer of the illegal departure ban case involving former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui. This case involves a large number of prosecutors, including Lee Sung-yoon, the head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office who served as the head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2019 when the incident occurred, and others from the same department. Gong-su-cheo has initiated an investigation into Moon Hong-sung, head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (then senior researcher of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division).

This is a case that Gong-su-cheo had 'conditionally transferred' to the prosecution in March this year. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, which has been investigating the case, maintains the position that "since Gong-su-cheo has already handed over the case to the prosecution, Gong-su-cheo does not have the case, so it does not constitute a duplicate case," and refuses the transfer. A lawyer in Seocho-dong said, "Due to the disagreement between Gong-su-cheo and the prosecution, duplicate investigations have started, leading to criticism of wasted administrative and investigative resources," adding, "If detailed coordination between the two agencies regarding case transfers is not resolved quickly, conflicts will inevitably repeat."

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