Prosecution Summons Baek Woon-gyu, Finalizing 'Blacklist' by September

14-Hour Summons Interrogation of Suspect
All 5 Accused Individuals Investigated
Possibility of Expansion to Higher-Ups Including Blue House
Acceleration Ahead of Enforcement of Prosecution Reform Bill

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The prosecution investigated Baek Woon-gyu, the former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, who is the last key suspect in the ‘Ministry of Industry Blacklist’ case. With investigations into all five accused individuals completed, it is expected that the investigation will soon be concluded.

The Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Hyung-won) summoned former Minister Baek as a suspect on the 9th from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., conducting an approximately 14-hour-long investigation. This summons came three weeks after the prosecution’s search and seizure. It is reported that the prosecution questioned Baek about orders to coerce resignation letters and whether the Blue House was involved.

The Ministry of Industry Blacklist case involves allegations that shortly after the Moon Jae-in administration began in September 2017, Baek and other Ministry of Industry officials forced the presidents of four Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) subsidiaries, including Korea South-East Power, who were appointed during the Park Geun-hye administration, to submit their resignations. The Liberty Korea Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) filed a complaint in January 2019 against Baek and former Deputy Minister Lee In-ho for abuse of authority.

Earlier, on the 19th of last month, the prosecution conducted search and seizure operations at Baek’s home, Hanyang University office, email records, and six affiliated institutions under the Ministry of Industry, including the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute. The heads of the institutions who had resigned were already summoned as witnesses and investigated.

During the search and seizure of his Hanyang University office, former Minister Baek stated, “I did not act under instructions from the Moon administration and always handled work in compliance with laws and regulations.” Regarding the abuse of authority allegations, he responded, “It is not appropriate to comment on matters under investigation.”

With the investigation of all five accused individuals completed by the prosecution with Baek as the last, there is a possibility that the investigation will expand to examine whether higher-ups, including the Blue House, were involved. It is widely expected that the investigation will focus on the possible involvement of former Blue House Economic Secretary Park Won-joo and former Blue House Social Secretary Kim Soo-hyun, who oversaw personnel affairs of affiliated institution heads.

In the legal community, there is also an analysis that the investigation team intends to complete the overall investigation before the mid-level prosecutor personnel reshuffle. Additionally, with the enforcement of the prosecution’s investigative authority separation law scheduled for September, it appears to be an effort to assert the prosecution’s presence.

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