The Corruption Investigation Office clears Park Ji-won of 'Tip Manipulation'... Calls for Prosecution on Yoon Seok-yeol for Defamation and Election Law Violations

Whistleblower Jo Seong-eun in the 'Gobal Saju' Case Referred to Prosecutors

Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won. / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit, which has been investigating the 'tip-off manipulation' allegations, has cleared former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won of any charges.

The 'tip-off manipulation' allegation involves suspicions that former Director Park was involved in Newsbus's false reporting that suggested President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was a presidential election preliminary candidate at the time, was involved in the 'accusation manipulation' scandal, along with whistleblower Jo Seong-eun and others.

The Investigation Division 2 of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Chief Prosecutor Kim Seong-moon) announced on the 13th that it has cleared former Director Park of charges including violation of the National Intelligence Service Act, election law violations, and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, as well as the same charges against an unidentified former NIS employee, related to the 'tip-off manipulation' allegations that former Director Park and an unidentified NIS employee were involved in the process of whistleblower Jo reporting the 'accusation manipulation' case to the media.

The unit stated, "There is no evidence to suggest that the suspects conspired or that the unidentified former NIS employee was involved."

Regarding the election law and Information and Communications Network Act violations by the unidentified former NIS employee and Jo, the unit transferred the case to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, citing that it is outside the jurisdiction of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit.

The 'tip-off manipulation' allegations surfaced on August 11 last year when it was revealed that former Director Park met with Jo just before the whistleblowing of the 'accusation manipulation' case.

It was revealed that just before meeting former Director Park, Jo had downloaded or captured about 100 image files with the automatically generated phrase 'Sent by Son Jun-sung' in a Telegram chat with Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, raising suspicions that Jo might have coordinated the timing or content of the report with former Director Park.

In particular, Jo, who had previously denied any consultation with former Director Park, amplified suspicions by stating in an interview with a broadcasting station, "The date of September 2 (the Newsbus report) was neither desired by our director nor me, nor was it a date I was consulted on or given consideration for."

Earlier, the 'Yoon Seok-yeol People's Campaign Political Operation Truth Investigation Special Committee' accused former Director Park, Jo, and an unidentified former NIS employee of violating the National Intelligence Service Act (political interference), the Public Official Election Act (illegal election campaigning by public officials), and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act by allegedly coordinating media whistleblowing and timing to falsely implicate then-candidate Yoon in the 'accusation manipulation' scandal between July and September last year.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit announced that it requested the prosecution to indict former Director Park for spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, related to false reports that former Director Park influenced the case of former Yongsan Tax Office Chief Yoon Woo-jin and possessed related materials, which he revealed in an interview with reporters in mid-September last year.

The request for indictment is a procedure under the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit Act, whereby the unit asks the prosecution to indict when it finds evidence of high-ranking official crimes that it cannot prosecute directly.

Article 3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit Act stipulates that only in cases involving high-ranking officials such as the Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court, Prosecutor General, judges and prosecutors, and police officers of rank Superintendent or higher, can the unit prosecutors directly file indictments for crimes committed by the officials or their families during their tenure.

Article 28, Paragraph 1 of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit Case Handling Rules states that for high-ranking official crimes other than those specified in Article 3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Act, if the unit finds sufficient evidence and deems indictment appropriate, it shall issue a request for indictment decision form (Form No. 8) and forward it along with related documents and evidence to a prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Form No. 9).

However, the unit cleared former Director Park of charges related to violation of the National Intelligence Service Act (political interference) on the grounds that he did not use his position as NIS Director, and election law violations (illegal election campaigning) on the grounds that he did not use his official status.

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