Park Beom-gye: "Regarding the 'Gobal Sajoo' Allegation... Considering Various Scenarios for Review"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, said regarding the allegations of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's 'solicitation of prosecution' that "a meaningful investigation is underway."

On the 8th, as he entered the Ministry of Justice Government Gwacheon Building, Minister Park met with reporters and stated, "The Ministry of Justice Inspection Office reviewed 5 to 6 charges by assuming various scenarios," adding, "We also examined who the investigative authorities would be in each case." However, regarding whether the investigation would be transferred, he said, "At this point, it is up to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to make its own judgment," and added, "I find it difficult to disclose specific details of the investigation."

Earlier, the internet media Newsbus reported on the 2nd that "it has been confirmed that the prosecution solicited the opposition party to file criminal charges against ruling party politicians around the time of the April 15 general election last year." The report identified Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, as the person who delivered the prosecution's complaint and the real-name criminal judgment document of whistleblower A from the 'prosecutor-media collusion' case to the opposition party. It also named Son Joon-sung, then the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Officer (Crime Information Planning Officer), as the person who handed these materials to Kim Woong.

At that time, Newsbus did not directly report on former Prosecutor General Yoon's involvement but included in the article that "the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Policy Officer directly reports major trends inside and outside the prosecution to the Prosecutor General and carries out the Prosecutor General's confidential instructions." Subsequently, the ruling party raised the possibility of former Prosecutor General Yoon's involvement.

Currently, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department has launched a fact-finding investigation under the direction of Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo. Additionally, the whistleblower filed a public interest report last week, and the submitted mobile phone and evidence materials have been secured for investigation. Minister Park also separately instructed the Ministry of Justice Inspection Office to verify the facts.

Meanwhile, Minister Park commented on the previously reported allegations of the prosecution's 'targeted investigation of Lee Jae-myung,' saying, "It does not seem like something that can be ignored."

Earlier, KBS reported that in 2017, the Violent Crimes Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office pressured the representative of the small and medium-sized enterprise Komatrade to testify about misconduct by Lee, then mayor of Seongnam. The prosecution, on the other hand, explained that during the process of tracing funds, they only examined the accounts of associates related to the case and did not investigate matters related to Lee.

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