Court Rejects Im Eun-jeong's Motion for Reconsideration, Calling "Yoon's Investigation Obstruction" Non-Prosecution Unjust

Im Eun-jeong, the Inspection Officer of the Ministry of Justice, is heading to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 8th to be questioned as a witness regarding allegations that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol obstructed the investigation into former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's perjury coaching case. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Im Eun-jung, head prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office's Major Economic Crime Investigation Division, filed a petition for reconsideration arguing that the decision of non-prosecution by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HOCI) regarding the suspicion of President Yoon Seok-yeol's interference in the investigation of the 'former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's false testimony coaching case' was unjust, but the court did not accept it.

According to the legal community on the 29th, the Criminal Division 30 of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Bae Gwang-guk, Judges Jo Jin-gu and Park Eun-young) dismissed the petition for reconsideration filed by Prosecutor Im on the 26th, who opposed HOCI's non-prosecution decision.

A petition for reconsideration is a system where a complainant or accuser who disagrees with the non-prosecution decision of the prosecution or HOCI requests the competent high court to decide whether to prosecute. If the court accepts it, the prosecuting agency must file charges.

This case involves allegations that President Yoon and former Legal Research and Training Institute Director Cho Nam-gwan, who served as Prosecutor General and Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office respectively in May 2020, obstructed the fact-finding investigation and prosecution related to the suspicion of coaching false testimony by former Prime Minister Han.

HOCI investigated President Yoon and others on charges of abuse of authority and neglect of duty following a complaint by the civic group Judicial Justice Citizens' Action (Sasehaeng) in June last year, and dismissed the charges in February, just before the presidential election. The case separately reported by Prosecutor Im was also registered as '2022 Gongje 23·24' and dismissed for lack of evidence in March.

Sasehaeng and Prosecutor Im filed petitions for reconsideration against HOCI's decision, and the Seoul High Court also dismissed Sasehaeng's petition last month, stating that "there is insufficient evidence to recognize that the non-prosecution decision was unjust."

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