The Corruption Investigation Office summons Cho Nam-gwan, Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, for questioning... Related to obstruction of investigation in Han Myeong-sook's false testimony coaching case

Director Jo Nam-gwan of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. / Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (PCC) investigating allegations of obstruction of investigation in the case of witness tampering during the trial of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook summoned Cho Nam-gwan, head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, for questioning on the 9th.

The PCC's Investigation Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Choi Seok-gyu) summoned Director Cho as a suspect and conducted the investigation on the same day.

Director Cho is suspected of obstructing the investigation and prosecution into allegations that prosecutors from the Han Myeong-sook investigation team coerced false testimony from witnesses during the trial while he served as Deputy Prosecutor General or Acting Prosecutor General under former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

The witness tampering allegations refer to claims that prosecutors investigating former Prime Minister Han in 2011 forced inmates to give false testimony as witnesses in her trial.

Im Eun-jung, the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Officer, has claimed that during her time as a policy researcher for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department, former Prosecutor General Yoon and Director Cho obstructed the investigation by excluding her from investigative duties. Director Cho, while Deputy Prosecutor General, gave final approval for the dismissal of charges against the Han Myeong-sook investigation team prosecutors.

Previously, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Committee decided to dismiss or not pursue disciplinary action against two prosecutors from the Han Myeong-sook investigation team who had been under inspection for witness tampering allegations. A dismissal means there is no reason for disciplinary action, while a non-pursuit decision is made when there are grounds for discipline but it is deemed appropriate not to impose sanctions.

The Inspection Committee was reportedly convened at the request of Han Dong-su, head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department, and Officer Im, who requested a "Prosecutor General's Warning." Although disciplinary action was not possible due to the statute of limitations under the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, they attempted to issue a warning without a statute of limitations, but the motion failed to pass the inspection committee.

Officer Im maintains that former Prosecutor General Yoon replaced the lead prosecutor from herself to the head of Inspection Division 3. The Ministry of Justice also announced the results of a joint inspection with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in July, stating that during Officer Im's investigation of the Han Myeong-sook-related witness tampering complaint, former Prosecutor General Yoon's designation of the lead prosecutor as head of Inspection Division 3 was an arbitrary case assignment, recommending improvements such as establishing principles for case assignment and investigation team formation.

However, Director Cho rebutted, stating, "The lead prosecutor was originally the head of Inspection Division 3, and the case was never assigned or reassigned to Officer Im." Director Cho's side argues that the head of the Inspection Department does not have the authority to change the lead prosecutor without the Prosecutor General's approval.

The PCC registered former Prosecutor General Yoon and Director Cho in June under case number Gongje 8 on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of rights. Subsequently, they conducted raids on the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to secure inspection materials related to former Prosecutor General Yoon.

In September, they summoned Officer Im and the head of the Inspection Department as witnesses for questioning.

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