Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Public Corruption Investigation Office to Jointly Investigate 'Gobal Saju' Allegations

The Corruption Investigation Office conducts search and seizure at the homes and offices of Assemblyman Kim Woong and Prosecutor Son Joon-sung... The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is in the final stage of fact-finding investigation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HCIC) intensified its investigation into the so-called 'accusation solicitation suspicion' on the 10th by conducting simultaneous raids on the office of Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, and the residence and office of Son Joon-sung, former Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (currently Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office). The HCIC's simultaneous raids took place abruptly just four days after receiving the accusation letter. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which is in the final stages of its fact-finding investigation, is also highly likely to switch to an investigative system.

Kim, a lawmaker, has been identified as the person who received the accusation letter from Prosecutor Son just before last year's general election in connection with the accusation solicitation suspicion. Although he held a press conference the day before, he only repeated vague explanations, further fueling the controversy.

The HCIC acted swiftly. Two days after receiving the accusation from the Citizens' Action for Judicial Justice (Sasehaeng), they summoned Kim Han-me, the representative, and conducted an accuser investigation. After the investigation, Representative Kim emphasized that the possibility of HCIC filing charges is high. According to Representative Kim, during the accuser investigation, the HCIC requested the withdrawal of some of the charges specified in the accusation letter. Although it was mainly an investigative aspect, since it is unprecedented to exclude some charges from the accusation letter and only file charges on the rest, there is an analysis that the HCIC requested the withdrawal of charges related to violations of the State Public Officials Act to proceed with filing charges.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which had been conducting a fact-finding investigation, is preparing to switch to an investigation. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is finalizing the digital evidence analysis of the work computer of Prosecutor Son, who is suspected of handing over the controversial accusation letter to the opposition party.

Prosecutor Son's PC, along with the mobile phone submitted by the whistleblower, is key evidence to resolve this suspicion. The PC can run Telegram, and records of accessed court rulings can also be confirmed. After securing Prosecutor Son's PC, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office examined whether there are traces of work related to the accusation letter, court rulings, SNS capture images on this computer, and whether related emails or messages were exchanged.

It is known that the forensic results of the mobile phone submitted by the whistleblower found no signs of manipulation. Various attached materials within the mobile phone have been analyzed, and the verification of the authenticity of the Telegram photo file labeled 'Sent by Son Joon-sung' is also in the final stages.

Because of this, the possibility of simultaneous investigations by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the HCIC has increased. Considering the applicable legal principles for this case, there is sufficient justification for both the prosecution and the HCIC to conduct investigations simultaneously. Moreover, it is known that the Ministry of Justice is conducting a separate investigation based on five charges: violation of the Public Official Election Act, abuse of authority, violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, breach of official secrets, and violation of the State Public Officials Act. Among these, the prosecution can directly investigate violations of the Public Official Election Act, while abuse of authority and breach of official secrets fall under the HCIC's jurisdiction.

Pressure from Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, is also intensifying daily. Minister Park visited the National Assembly the day before and emphasized the need to switch to an investigation with coercive measures, stating, "Using investigative methods is ultimately desirable for uncovering the substantive truth."

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