Choi Kang-wook "Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecution Investigation Inevitable... Special Prosecutor If Necessary, Must Thoroughly Uncover"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Choi Kang-wook, the leader of the Open Democratic Party, mentioned that a prosecution investigation into former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is inevitable and that a special prosecutor investigation may be necessary in the future if needed. Choi is one of the ruling party figures suspected of being involved in the allegation that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office under former Prosecutor General Yoon ordered a complaint. He also said that the People Power Party should take steps to deal with former Prosecutor General Yoon.

On the 6th, Choi appeared on KBS Radio's "Choi Kyung-young's Choi Kang Current Affairs" and said, "The key will be whether the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department can find traces of involvement through some internal investigation," adding, "Since verdict documents can only be exchanged through the prosecution's internal network, it will not be easy to destroy them, and it probably won't be that difficult to find them."

This refers to the verdict documents included in the complaint that Son Jun-sung, then the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Policy Officer (currently Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office), allegedly delivered to Kim Woong, then a candidate for the United Future Party (currently a People Power Party lawmaker) in April last year.

Choi said, "It seems that the current Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo's prosecution will demonstrate a willingness to uncover the truth, and based on that, it is natural for an investigation into illegal acts to take place," adding, "The prosecution investigation will inevitably proceed in the early stages. Whether the inspection is converted into an investigation or not, since this happened within the prosecution, it will not be possible to prevent an internal investigation."

He continued, "The basic charge is election interference under the Public Official Election Act, and if something was downloaded using the internal network, it would violate the Electronic Government Act, the Personal Information Protection Act, and involve official secrets leakage, followed by abuse of authority. Since it relates to various criminal charges, it seems difficult for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to immediately jump in."

He added, "The results of the prosecution's investigation should be continuously verified and confirmed through the CIO, the National Assembly, and the National Assembly audit process, and if necessary, through a special or designated prosecutor later. Therefore, it must be thoroughly investigated."

Regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon, he said, "Right now, he (former Prosecutor General Yoon) cannot dispute the facts and is only shouting political conspiracy," adding, "I think this is a baseless claim because he knows the flow of the internal network and the internal system of the prosecution to some extent. The position of Investigation Information Policy Officer was formerly called Crime Information Policy Officer or Crime Information Planning Officer, and anyone who knows the prosecution knows and acknowledges that this is an organization that can never act independently without the chief prosecutor's orders. Therefore, I believe the chief prosecutor cannot be unaware or uninvolved."

Choi said, "The candidate himself (former Prosecutor General Yoon) has said that those who raised this issue while claiming political conspiracy should step down from politics if the facts are confirmed," adding, "Before that, it was his duty to the public to first explain what he would do if this were confirmed as true. His explanation is so out of touch with reality, customs, and common sense that even candidates from his own party cannot accept it and are questioning his responsibility."

He added, "I think the criticisms from candidate Yoo Seung-min and lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo are very valid, and I hope the party will first resolve this issue on its own. The expression 'rotten lifeline' has even been used, and if you just watch, it could lead to a big problem."

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