청 "Prosecutors' Typical Fabricated Investigation and Vile Media Play"... Spokesperson for Secretary Choi Kang-wook

Yoon Do-han, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Choi Kang-wook, Secretary for Public Service Discipline at the Blue House, claimed that the media reports suggesting that the prosecution was considering indicting him for issuing a 'false internship confirmation letter' to the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk were "typical fabricated investigations and despicable media play," the Blue House said.

Yoon Do-han, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, held a briefing at the Press Hall that day and conveyed Choi's position, saying, "We suspect that when the investigation results on former Minister Cho were so poor that public criticism was feared, a separate charge was fabricated to appease public opinion by spreading such false and fabricated content to the media."

Yoon said, "According to Choi's statement, Cho's son interned in July 2011, and a confirmation letter was issued accordingly," adding, "He interned twice between January 2017 and February 2018, and confirmation letters were issued for each." He further noted, "There is no clear regulation on how internship activities should be conducted."

Regarding this, a senior Blue House official explained, "Choi stated that Cho's son engaged in all activities including document preparation and assistance, record organization, English proofreading and translation, attending trials, reviewing case files, meetings, and cleaning."

Yoon said, "Although Choi had already submitted a written statement of about 50 pages to the prosecution, they kept demanding his appearance," and added, "Currently, Choi is involved in sensitive tasks almost related to prosecution personnel affairs, so he provided a written response to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings," explaining the reason for his non-appearance.

He continued, "I would like to say that 'the prosecution should speak through investigation,'" and concluded, "This is Choi's position."

There are also criticisms that it is inappropriate for Yoon, the Blue House Senior Secretary responsible for communicating with the public about national administration, to appear as if individually defending Choi regarding the prosecution investigation. Moreover, the matter in question occurred before Choi entered public office.

In response to such criticism, a senior Blue House official said, "Media contact has been handled by the Communication Secretary's office," and explained, "This has been the practice and precedent so far." However, regarding the content of Yoon's briefing, the official gave an ambiguous answer, saying, "It is Choi's personal claim," and "It may not be a confirmed fact." When asked if the briefing represented the Blue House's position, the official reiterated, "It is Choi's position."

When asked whether it is within the normal scope of duties for Choi, who is in charge of personnel verification for high-ranking officials, to be involved in internal prosecution personnel matters rather than ministers or other high-ranking officials, the official stepped back, saying, "It is not involvement in personnel affairs but related parts," and added, "I understand that he is conducting personnel verification for candidates for deputy chief prosecutor promotions within the prosecution."