Choi Kang-wook in Court: "'Go-bal Sa-ju' Behind Is President Yoon"

On the 24th, Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, repeatedly claimed in court that the so-called 'accusation manipulation' was backed by President Yoon Seok-yeol (then Prosecutor General).

Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, is attending the second trial held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the same day, Choi appeared as a witness at the trial of Prosecutor Son Jun-sung on charges including official secret leakage, held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon).

He stated, "The defendant (Son Jun-sung) and I were originally acquaintances, and no one would voluntarily write (the accusation) by forcibly fabricating it like this," adding, "The prosecution is an organization that does not act without the Prosecutor General's orders, and as a public official at the time, he could not have disobeyed that person's (President Yoon's) instructions."

When asked by Son's defense attorney and the court whether he had direct experience, he replied, "I heard it from the chief prosecutor, deputy chief prosecutor, senior prosecutors, and investigators," but did not disclose specific sources, saying, "If revealed here, would those people be okay in this era?"

Choi had reported this suspicion to the prosecution in September 2021, accusing President Yoon and Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon, but the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (Gongsoocheo), which took over the case, dismissed it without indictment in May last year.

He said, "Looking at the facts of the indictment, the public organization tried to intervene in the election for personal reasons," and added, "It pains me deeply that those who should be held accountable have escaped and the case has been downplayed."

Prosecutor Son was indicted on charges of transmitting images of accusation letters regarding pro-government figures such as Choi, who was a proportional representation candidate for the Open Democratic Party in the 2020 general election, former Open Democratic Party Supreme Council member Hwang Hee-seok, and Yoo Si-min, then chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, to Kim Woong, then a candidate for the United Future Party, via Telegram. Choi was named as the accused in the first and second draft accusation letters that the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division judged Son had delivered to Kim, and was selected as a witness in the trial held that day.

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