Beopseoryeon Requests Investigation by Supreme Prosecutors' Office into Yeowoon-guk Deputy Chief of Public Corruption Investigation Office and Assemblyman Park Seong-jun Regarding 'Inappropriate Phone Calls'

"Allegations of Violating Political Neutrality Duty under the Corruption Investigation Office Act and the State Public Officials Act"
Son Junseong's Side Also Files Complaint with Corruption Investigation Office to Exclude Deputy Director Yeo Woon-guk from Investigation

From the left, Yeo Woon-guk, Deputy Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, and Park Sung-joon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] A citizens' group has submitted a request for investigation to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office regarding Yeo Woon-guk, the Deputy Chief of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Unit (PCC), and Park Seong-jun, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, who have been embroiled in controversy over 'inappropriate phone calls.'

The citizens' group, Action Alliance for Establishing the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon), announced on the morning of the 18th that it had submitted a request for investigation to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office via the National Petition Portal concerning allegations against Deputy Chief Yeo and Assemblyman Park for violations of the State Public Officials Act, the Public Official Election Act, and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The request also included allegations against Deputy Chief Yeo for violating Article 22 of the PCC Act, which mandates political neutrality for PCC officials.

Beopse-ryeon explained the background for the investigation request, stating, "Deputy Chief Yeo and Assemblyman Park made a phone call and arranged a meeting, which violates Article 22 of the PCC Act that requires PCC officials to maintain political neutrality. There is also a possibility that matters related to investigations were discussed during the call."

The previous day, the Chosun Ilbo reported in an exclusive article titled "[Exclusive] Yoon Seok-yeol Investigation PCC Deputy Chief Controversy over Contact with Lee Jae-myung's Campaign Assemblyman" that Deputy Chief Yeo recently spoke with Assemblyman Park and arranged a dinner appointment, which was later canceled.

In response, the PCC acknowledged the phone call between the two but denied that any investigative matters were discussed, stating, "No investigative content was included in the conversation, and the claim that a meeting was scheduled for the 22nd and then canceled is not true."

The PCC also explained that since the Deputy Chief oversees general administrative duties including parliamentary affairs, it is impossible to avoid or refuse calls from members of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

However, despite the PCC's explanation, concerns have been raised that it was inappropriate for Deputy Chief Yeo, who is the lead prosecutor in the 'accusation manipulation' case involving Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, to have communicated and discussed a dinner appointment with Assemblyman Park, who serves as a joint spokesperson for the campaign of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and a rival.

Assemblyman Park recently urged a rigorous investigation into Yoon in the National Assembly regarding the 'accusation manipulation' allegations.

Lee Jong-bae, the representative of Beopse-ryeon, stated in the request for investigation, "It is a clear violation of Article 22 of the PCC Act's political neutrality obligation for the Deputy Chief, who is investigating an opposition party's presidential candidate, to have a phone call and even arrange a meeting with a key figure from the ruling party's presidential candidate's campaign. The fact that they discussed arranging a meeting beyond just a phone call suggests that they intended to direct or discuss investigative strategies that could harm the opposition candidate." He added, "If such content was discussed during the call, it could be considered a violation of Article 65 of the State Public Officials Act."

Article 22 of the PCC Act (Political Neutrality and Independence in Duty) stipulates that "Officials belonging to the PCC must maintain political neutrality and shall not receive any instructions or interference from external sources in the performance of their duties."

Article 65 of the State Public Officials Act (Prohibition of Political Activities) prohibits public officials from engaging in political activities such as joining political parties or supporting or opposing specific parties or individuals in elections.

Lee pointed out, "Although investigations are at the discretion of investigative agencies, if the Deputy Chief discussed matters related to the investigation with a person affiliated with a prominent presidential candidate's campaign and reflected that in the investigation, it is a clear abuse of discretion. This can be seen as the Deputy Chief using their position to conduct electioneering, which constitutes a violation of the Public Official Election Act." He added, "If Assemblyman Park made an improper request related to the investigation, it would be a violation of Article 5 of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act."

Lee criticized, "It is an unimaginably serious violation of political neutrality and an unconstitutional act undermining the fairness of elections for a key figure in the ruling party's presidential candidate's campaign to have a phone call and arrange a meeting with the Deputy Chief of the PCC who is investigating the opposition party's presidential candidate."

He continued, "Even a simple phone call exchanging pleasantries is highly inappropriate during such a sensitive time. If they went as far as to arrange a meal, it cannot be ruled out that they have been frequently communicating and meeting before. If the discussions were unrelated to the investigation, there would be no need to arrange a separate meeting. Therefore, it is highly likely that investigative matters were discussed, and a thorough investigation is required."

Lee emphasized, "This is not an issue that can be lightly dismissed with a mere statement of caution from the PCC Chief. It is a very serious matter concerning the legitimacy and credibility of the PCC's investigation, and complete exoneration must be proven. Therefore, the conversations between Assemblyman Park and Deputy Chief Yeo should be investigated through forensic analysis of their mobile phones."

Finally, Lee stated, "The fairness and neutrality of elections, which are considered the flower of democracy, are fundamental values of democracy. Any minor act that threatens fair elections must never be tolerated. Since this is not a matter to be taken lightly, the prosecution should conduct a thorough investigation and severely punish the accused."

Meanwhile, the day before, Son Jun-sung, the former Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and a key suspect in the 'accusation manipulation' case, filed a complaint with the PCC requesting that Deputy Chief Yeo, who was found to have had improper contact with ruling party figures, be excluded from the investigation.

Son's legal representative stated in a press release, "We have filed a complaint with PCC Chief Kim Jin-wook requesting that Deputy Chief Yeo, the lead prosecutor, be excluded from the investigation due to recent inappropriate investigative procedures."

He added, "Deputy Chief Yeo was found to have had contact with a spokesperson from the ruling party's presidential candidate's campaign during the ongoing investigation. Despite previous controversies over collusion with the ruling party during the arrest warrant request process, it is impossible to expect Deputy Chief Yeo to conduct a fair investigation given this inappropriate contact."

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