Prosecution Investigation Clock Accelerates After Prosecutor General Nomination for 'Moon Government and Lee Jae-myung'

‘West Sea Official Shooting Incident’ Former NIS Director Park Ji-won to Be Summoned Soon
14 Days Left Until Statute of Limitations on ‘Lawyer Fee Payment Suspicion’... Interest in Lee’s Summoning

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Since Lee Won-seok, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, was nominated as the first Prosecutor General under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the pace of investigations related to the Moon Jae-in administration and Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has been accelerating.

On the 26th, legal circles speculated that the burden caused by the absence of a leader who could serve as a shield has been resolved, leading to increased momentum in the investigations. However, within the prosecution, there is also a view that regardless of the nomination of the Prosecutor General candidate, the puzzle pieces of evidence secured through multiple raids by the investigation team have come together, giving the investigations new impetus.

A deputy prosecutor stated, "The appointment of a Prosecutor General candidate will significantly influence the investigation team," but added, "The investigation does not suddenly speed up just because a candidate has been nominated. It is the fact that various pieces of evidence collected by the investigation team are forming a coherent picture that is driving the progress."

The Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong), which is investigating allegations such as the deletion of records related to the ‘West Sea Civil Servant Shooting Incident,’ is expected to coordinate a summons schedule with former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won soon. Recently, the investigation team delivered part of the complaint submitted by the NIS to former Director Park. Until now, the prosecution had not disclosed the complaint to those accused, including former Director Park, citing concerns that it could hinder the investigation.

Former Director Park is suspected of unauthorized deletion of intelligence-related reports concerning the situation when Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, was killed by North Korean soldiers on September 22, 2020.

The Public Investigation Division 3 of the Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-beom), responsible for investigating the ‘Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen,’ visited the Presidential Archives on the same day to secure full documents related to the incident from the Blue House.

Since the 19th, through a raid on the Presidential Archives, the prosecution has obtained a list of 19 documents created by the Blue House during the period from when North Korean fishermen were found in the East Sea in November 2019 until their repatriation. The list reportedly includes information such as titles, summaries, dates, and authors of the documents.

Because all presidential records from former President Moon Jae-in’s term were transferred to the Presidential Archives on May 9, the investigation team is conducting the raid by selectively reviewing documents containing the government’s decision-making process at that time. In principle, presidential records are restricted from being viewed for up to 15 years (up to 30 years for materials related to personal privacy).

Meanwhile, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Public Investigation Division, led by Chief Prosecutor Jeong Won-du, which is investigating Lee Jae-myung’s ‘alleged lawyer fee payment by proxy,’ is accelerating its investigation by raiding the headquarters of KH Group (formerly Philux Group), which frequently conducts financial transactions with Ssangbangwool Group.

Ssangbangwool is suspected of having paid large sums of legal fees through convertible bonds to lawyers handling a public official election law violation case against Lee when he was governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018. The investigation team is reportedly verifying whether the frequent financial transactions between Ssangbangwool and KH Group are related to the alleged proxy payment of lawyer fees.

The investigation team is speeding up because only 14 days remain as of today before the statute of limitations expires for the lawyer fee proxy payment case. Lee was accused of false statement publication under the Public Official Election Act related to this allegation during the last presidential election, and the statute of limitations for this case expires on April 9, the six-month mark after the election day of March 10.

However, since the expiration date coincides with the first day of the Chuseok holiday, a final conclusion must be reached by the day before, September 8. Especially as a decision on whether to summon Lee for questioning must also be made, the investigation team does not appear to have much time left.

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