Prosecutors in Dilemma Over High-Profile Optimus Investigation

In the "Fund Defect Healing" Document, Minister Chu Calls It "Fake"... Initiating Investigation Itself Is a Burden

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The prosecution is facing a dilemma ahead of investigations into high-profile figures such as former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Heon-jae and former Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook. They had served as advisors to the Optimus Asset Management fund, which is suspected of attempting to lobby political and financial circles to attract investments.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Economic Crime Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Chief Prosecutor Joo Min-cheol) is conducting the Optimus case investigation along two major lines: fund fraud and lobbying allegations. The process involves first verifying the fund formation process, then focusing on individuals involved in that process to examine lobbying suspicions. With the fund fraud investigation having reached its peak, it now appears inevitable to investigate the Optimus advisory group.

The 'Fund Defect Remedy' document, prepared by Optimus CEO Kim Jae-hyun, mentions former Deputy Prime Minister Lee, former Prosecutor General Chae, former Nara Bank President Yang Ho, and former Military Mutual Aid Association Chairman Kim Jin-hoon, among others. The investigation team is examining the flow of funds related to their roles in the fund formation process, but so far has only confirmed the scale of advisory fees they received from Optimus.

Accordingly, the investigation team is reportedly considering directly questioning the advisory group as soon as some of the fund flows are confirmed. This is because, aside from the fund formation process and the advisory fees they received, there are unexplained aspects regarding how over 1 trillion won in funds could have been generated.

Recently, former Optimus Asset Management CEO Lee Hyuk-jin claimed in a media interview that "advisors such as former Bank President Yang received advisory fees 10 to 50 times higher than the usual amount while connecting investment destinations to Optimus." The legal community notes that if the advisory group had formally contracted with Optimus and provided legal advice, there would be no issue; however, if they performed roles for lobbying purposes, the situation would be different.

However, since these individuals are former high-ranking officials in the economic and legal sectors, confirming their advisory roles itself is a burden for the investigation team. This is because the authenticity of the 'Fund Defect Remedy' document has not yet been concluded, and expanding the investigation to include lobbying connections could be an overinterpretation.

Above all, Minister of Justice Choo revealed at a recent Ministry of Justice parliamentary audit that the document is a "fake document," making it difficult to initiate investigations into the advisory group. At that time, Minister Choo stated that the 'Fund Defect Remedy' document was "a fake document prepared to prepare for the Financial Supervisory Service investigation," sparking controversy over investigation guidelines. Although Minister Choo later drew a line by saying, "It cannot serve as a guideline since it was after the investigation," some have questioned the investigation team's willingness to pursue the case.

A lawyer formerly with the prosecution said, "The investigation team cannot conclude the investigation without confirming the funds that flowed to the advisory group," adding, "Moreover, if their names were mentioned even once during the fund formation process, expanding the investigation would already be an inevitable step."