Police Summons Bu Seung-chan Over 'Cheonggong Suspicion'... "Raised Rational Doubts"

The police have summoned former Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Bu Seung-chan for questioning on allegations that the fortune teller ‘Cheongong’ was involved in the relocation of the presidential residence to Yongsan.

Former Defense Ministry spokesperson Bu Seung-chan, who was accused of raising suspicions about fortune teller Cheon Gong's involvement in the presidential office residence relocation, is appearing on the morning of the 19th at the Cyber Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Jahamun Annex in Jongno-gu for questioning.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is currently investigating Bu as a suspect on charges of defamation by publication and defamation by spreading false information under the Information and Communications Network Act.

Bu appeared at the police station around 10 a.m. on the 19th and expressed regret toward the Presidential Office, which filed the complaint against him. He told reporters, “I only recorded it on April 1 last year. I regret having to stand here.” He added, “The Constitution guarantees freedom of publication, freedom of the press, and the public’s right to know. The content written in the book itself is a reasonable suspicion. It is deeply concerning that the Presidential Office is taking criminal action in South Korea.”

Through a book published in February and media interviews, Bu claimed that “Cheongong visited the Army Chief of Staff’s official residence and the Ministry of National Defense’s Seoul headquarters on the base during the presidential residence selection process,” information he said he heard from Nam Young-shin, then Army Chief of Staff. In response, the Presidential Office called it a “baseless fake suspicion” and filed complaints with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against Bu and two media outlets that reported his claims.

After launching an investigation, the police conducted a search and seizure at the Ministry of National Defense’s Operations Support Division in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 15th of last month. At that time, the police secured records related to visitors. After analyzing 4 terabytes (TB) of CCTV footage from March last year, the police recently announced that “there was no footage showing Cheongong.” Earlier, analysis of Cheongong’s mobile phone location records also showed no trace of him near the candidate sites for the presidential residence.

Meanwhile, the police continue to attempt to summon Cheongong for questioning. Cheongong is currently a witness and cannot be forcibly summoned by the police.

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