[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 17th, the prosecution indicted former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. The charge is that Cho, who was the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House in late 2017, halted the special inspection by the Blue House’s Special Inspection Team into Yoo Jae-soo, former Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Busan. This comes 11 months after former Special Inspection Team member Kim Tae-woo filed a complaint against Cho for abuse of authority in February last year.
Investigation into Allegation of Halting Yoo Jae-soo’s Inspection Concluded
The Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jung-seop) indicted former Minister Cho without detention on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights. The prosecution stated the reason for indictment as "it is recognized that the inspection activities of the Special Inspection Team were obstructed and the inspection and personnel authority of the Financial Services Commission officials were infringed." It is alleged that Cho, while aware of the misconduct of Yoo, who was serving as Director of the Financial Policy Bureau at the Financial Services Commission during Cho’s tenure as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, unlawfully ordered the suspension of the inspection and did not report it.
Earlier, on the 23rd of last month, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Cho on these charges. However, the court dismissed the warrant, stating that "although the criminal charges are substantiated, there is no necessity for detention." The judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Eastern District Court, Kwon Deok-jin, judged that the criminal charges were not severe, considering measures such as Yoo submitting his resignation.
After the warrant dismissal, the prosecution reportedly considered reapplying. However, after summoning Cho for supplementary investigation on the 6th of this month, they proceeded to indict him without detention. It is interpreted that the prosecution judged there was no need to reapply for a warrant since the court did not recognize the gravity of the crime to the extent that detention was necessary.
Investigation Quiet for Over Half a Year... Still Ongoing
This case was triggered by a complaint from former Special Inspection Team member Kim. It was in February last year. Kim accused Cho and others of abuse of authority, claiming that the inspection of Yoo was halted by Cho. The case remained under the radar for nine months until the prosecution summoned Yoo in November of the same year, accelerating the investigation. Due to this, some in the legal community raised suspicions, suggesting that "the prosecution neglected the case and only took it out of the cabinet to start investigating when the corruption allegations involving Cho’s family were blocked."
Similar remarks came from the ruling party. Kim Nam-guk, a lawyer and former vice-chairman of the Democratic Party’s Legal Affairs Committee, pointed out at the time, "The prosecution suddenly started a targeted investigation into former Minister Cho after not investigating for nine months since the complaint was filed." The prosecution denied these allegations, claiming that they had been steadily investigating since the complaint was received but the progress was slow due to focusing on other cases such as the 'Ministry of Environment Blacklist' incident.
On the day of indictment, the prosecution stated that "whether others involved are accomplices will be decided after further verification of facts." The prosecution has already summoned and investigated Baek Won-woo, former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, twice on suspicion of delivering the opinion to halt the inspection to Cho. Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam Province and former Blue House National Planning Office Director Yoon Gun-young, who were suspected of requesting the suspension of the inspection on Yoo, have also been questioned as witnesses.
Cho: "I Will Expose the Falsity of Abuse of Authority in Court"
Immediately after being indicted on charges of abuse of authority, former Minister Cho stated on Facebook, "While serving as minister, I silently endured without any interference or defense regarding the prosecution’s investigation, but now I will defend myself as a citizen." He added, "I intend to thoroughly contest legal responsibility based on facts and law," and "I will expose the falsity of the indictment’s claim that the decision to end the inspection after receiving a report and taking relatively light measures constitutes abuse of authority."
Cho wrote, "Even looking at the indictment, there is no 'power-type corruption' charge of using the position of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs to gain benefits, which the media widely reported," but also admitted, "In hindsight, there was some political judgment inadequacy as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs." This reaffirms his position that while there is no legal responsibility, he will take political responsibility. From the investigation stage, Cho has argued that it was an 'end' of inspection, not a 'halt,' and that "only political responsibility exists."
Cho added, "Regardless of the reason, as a former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and Minister of Justice, I apologize to the people and reflect on causing a burden to state affairs," and "I am pleased that the reforms of power institutions, which I aspired to and promoted as a scholar, Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, and Minister of Justice, are being realized one after another, but it is bittersweet to watch this as a defendant." He concluded, "Though this misfortune struck like a bolt from the blue, I will not tire and will continue to fight."
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