Prosecutors' Office: "We Never Allowed Lee Jong-seop to Leave the Country"... Opinion Submitted to Ministry of Justice to Maintain Travel Ban

The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Hugo Gongsoocheo) has completely refuted the Presidential Office's claim that former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop obtained permission from the Unit before departing to assume his post as ambassador to Australia.

The Unit stated that it never authorized Lee's departure and, on the contrary, expressed opposition to the Ministry of Justice, contradicting the Presidential Office's announcement and likely sparking controversy.

Former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 18th, the Unit issued a press release saying, "Due to numerous media inquiries regarding the Presidential Office's recent position, we would like to clarify," adding, "While the Unit consistently maintains that it is difficult to confirm specific details about the lifting of the travel ban or the schedule of summons investigations, there are some factual discrepancies in the Presidential Office's statements that we wish to address."

The Unit further stated, "The Unit does not have the authority to lift travel bans," and "Therefore, it never permitted the subject of the case to leave the country during the investigation process, and regarding the subject's objection to the travel ban submitted to the Ministry of Justice, the Unit submitted an opinion to the Ministry that maintaining the travel ban was necessary."

Contrary to the Presidential Office's announcement, the Unit emphasized that it never authorized former Minister Lee's departure and instead informed the Ministry of Justice that the travel ban should be maintained in response to Lee's objection.

Earlier that morning, the Presidential Office, through its spokesperson, released a statement titled "Presidential Office Position on Current Issues," saying, "During the vetting process for Ambassador Lee, the review of the allegations found no issues, and the Unit had never requested a summons in the six months following the complaint," adding, "Before departing to assume his ambassadorial post, Ambassador Lee voluntarily visited the Unit and was investigated for about four hours, stating he would return for questioning whenever summoned."

It continued, "The Unit also said it would notify him of the next summons once preparations were complete," and "Moreover, the travel ban was lifted not only by the Ministry of Justice but also with permission from the Unit, allowing him to depart for Australia."

The Presidential Office also stated, "Therefore, Ambassador Lee will promptly respond to any summons from the Unit, and it is highly inappropriate for a foreign mission chief to remain idle in the country while the Unit is not ready to summon him."

Meanwhile, the Presidential Office issued a counter-rebuttal to the Unit's position.

It is understood that the Presidential Office's stance is that during the Unit's investigation, former Minister Lee expressed willingness to attend if a date was set, and the Unit's response that it would notify him of the date effectively implied consent for his departure.

Separately, on the previous day, Han Dong-hoon, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, said, "I do not think this issue should cause public fatigue through political strife ahead of the general election," adding, "The Unit should immediately summon him, and Ambassador Lee should promptly return."

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