Choi Kang-wook: "Prosecution coup abusing prosecutorial power... Will file charges against Yoon Seok-yeol"

Choi: "Prosecution as Retaliation Based on Personnel Disadvantages"
"Cho Kuk's Son's Internship Activity Is Not Illegal"
"Never Switched to Suspect or Asked to Appear"
"Yoon Chief Prosecutor's Crimes Will Be Revealed by the Corruption Investigation Office"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Choi Kang-wook, Secretary for Public Office Discipline at the Blue House, who was indicted on charges of falsifying and issuing a certificate of internship activities for the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, has strongly opposed the indictment, calling it a "prosecutorial coup abusing prosecutorial power." On the afternoon of the 23rd, lawyer Ha Joo-hee, representing Secretary Choi, held a press conference with court reporters at her office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, and announced Secretary Choi's statement expressing this position.

In the statement, Secretary Choi pointed out that the prosecution's indictment "violates the Prosecutors' Office Act, constitutes insubordination against the chief prosecutor, and involves the removal of the chief prosecutor's approval authority by the Prosecutor General," calling it "a clear illegal act beyond a mere procedural violation." He also said, "The indictment was hastily carried out by abusing authority in violation of relevant laws and procedures just 30 minutes before the announcement of the prosecution personnel, and it can only be seen as a retaliatory indictment based on vague assumptions of their own personnel disadvantages."

Regarding the indictment details, Secretary Choi stated, "The son of former Minister Cho interned at the law firm Cheongmaek," adding, "This was neither a sudden occurrence nor an illegal act." Cheongmaek is the law firm where Secretary Choi worked as a lawyer. He explained, "Cheongmaek is effectively a joint office composed of four lawyers, and even regular employees do not separately record attendance. The son of former Minister Cho carried out activities such as assisting in drafting court-related documents, which is completely different from the process of assigning tasks for evaluation or record-keeping with the expectation of future employment, as seen in large corporations or major law firms."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Secretary Choi disclosed the summons he received from the prosecution and claimed that he was never notified of being converted into a suspect. In fact, the disclosed summons contained a case number assigned to non-registered cases by the prosecution, but did not include the suspect number assigned to registered suspects. Secretary Choi said, "The summons claimed by the prosecution is no different from those sent to other witnesses as 'pressure tools,' which are prohibited by law," adding, "This is a clear violation of human rights."

Furthermore, Secretary Choi announced his intention to file a complaint against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and the related investigation team for abuse of authority. He stated, "Prosecutor General Yoon and the related investigation team have repeatedly engaged in acts constituting abuse of authority, including public disclosure of suspect facts during the investigation process," and added, "I will file complaints against all of them to show under what circumstances abuse of authority can be judged as guilty." He also added, "I expect that the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's inspections, as well as investigations by the soon-to-be-established Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, will thoroughly expose their criminal acts."