Prosecutors Investigate Whistleblower Prosecutor as Witness in Alleged Probe Targeting Prosecutor General Yoon

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The prosecution summoned and investigated a prosecutor who revealed that former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae conducted an inspection with the intention of forcing Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol to resign.

On the 15th, the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Woo-young) reportedly summoned Prosecutor A, who was then assigned to the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Office, as a witness for questioning last week. The investigation focused on specific instructions and circumstances given by Park Eun-jung, then head of the Ministry of Justice Inspection Office (Chief Prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office's Major Economic Crimes Investigation Unit).

Prosecutor A, who was on secondment at the time, disclosed the allegations through the prosecution's internal network on November 29, 2020, while the inspection was ongoing. After analyzing several rulings, he concluded that it was difficult to establish the charge of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights against Prosecutor General Yoon, but stated that former Inspector Park ordered the deletion of such conclusions.

The prosecution is expected to summon former Inspector Park as a suspect based on Prosecutor A's testimony and materials seized from the Ministry of Justice Inspection Office and the Central District Prosecutors' Office Records Management Division. Additionally, an investigation is anticipated into Lee Sung-yoon, a research fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice (then head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office), who is suspected of interfering in the inspection process.

Former Inspector Park is accused of unlawfully providing Ministry of Justice and Supreme Prosecutors' Office materials, obtained under the pretext of inspecting Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who was involved in the 'Channel A case' in October 2020, to the Ministry of Justice Inspection Committee conducting the inspection of Prosecutor General Yoon. During this process, she is also suspected of evidence tampering, as the materials were not initially included in Han Dong-hoon's inspection report, were later added, and the dates were altered.

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