Hanbyun: "Military Comment Manipulation Reinvestigation, Clear Criminal Act"

Moon Cheongwadae Administrative Officer Reported to Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office... "Must Investigate Strongly"

Lee Jaewon, chairman of the Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea, is moving on the morning of the 1st to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to submit a complaint for abuse of authority against the National Security Office chief of the Moon Jae-in administration related to the military comment re-investigation.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] A conservative-leaning lawyers' group has filed a complaint with the prosecution against a former Blue House National Security Office administrator under former President Moon Jae-in, regarding suspicions of a re-investigation into the Ministry of National Defense Cyber Command's online comment manipulation case.

The Lawyers' Group for Human Rights and Peaceful Unification of the Korean Peninsula (Hanbyeon) filed the complaint on the 5th at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, stating, "The reason for the reopening of the investigation three years after the Cyber Command comment case was closed has recently come to light, and we will accuse the then Moon Jae-in administration administrator of abuse of authority."

In a statement, Hanbyeon said, "It is reported that the Blue House National Security Office administrator of the Moon Jae-in government visited the Ministry of National Defense investigation headquarters around August 2017, met with the head of the investigation team, and instructed them to copy the investigation records and bring them to the Blue House," adding, "The administrator's directing the investigation without legal grounds constitutes obstruction of the exercise of rights, and forcing the Ministry of National Defense investigation staff to copy and leak investigation records externally is a clear criminal act."

Hanbyeon emphasized, "The investigative authorities must thoroughly investigate who instructed the administrator, and to whom within the Ministry of National Defense additional investigations were ordered, to uncover the truth and strongly investigate to prevent recurrence of illegal abuse of authority that threatens national security."

Recently, a media outlet reported that around August 2017, a Blue House National Security Office administrator unlawfully accessed investigation records related to the 2012 'Military Cyber Command Comment Manipulation' case, after which the re-investigation into former Minister Kim Kwan-jin began to accelerate.

Former Minister Kim was prosecuted on charges including ordering the Cyber Command commander and personnel from November 2011 to June 2013 to post over 9,000 online messages supporting the government and ruling party and criticizing the opposition and opposition parties.

The first trial found Kim guilty of political involvement under the Military Criminal Act and abuse of authority related to the Cyber Command investigation, sentencing him to 2 years and 6 months in prison, while acquitting him of abuse of authority regarding new recruitment of Cyber Command civilian employees. The appellate court upheld the first trial's judgment but reduced the sentence to 2 years and 4 months. The case is currently pending at the Supreme Court.

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