Growing Mystery of Kim Hak-ui's 'Departure Ban'... Under Investigation at Anyang District Prosecutors' Office

Former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] On the early morning of March 23, 2019, former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, who was under investigation by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Team for allegations including the ‘villa sexual bribery’ scandal, was stopped from leaving the country through Incheon Airport while attempting to depart for Thailand. Suspicions have arisen that this was due to a travel ban based on fabricated documents, and it has been confirmed that the prosecution is already investigating the related allegations.

At the time, Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who was dispatched to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Team, reportedly requested an emergency travel ban at Incheon Airport Immigration Office by citing a case number from an incident that had been cleared of charges years earlier, and received retroactive approval. Allegations have also been raised that then Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki and then Head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Lee Sung-yoon were involved, drawing attention to the prosecution’s investigation.

According to the legal community on the 12th, the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Geun-soo) is investigating suspicions of illegality in the process of imposing an emergency travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim before indictment.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office received a related public interest report from the People Power Party earlier last month and transferred it to the Anyang Branch, which has jurisdiction over Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, where the Ministry of Justice is located. The Anyang Branch, which received the report, assigned it to the Criminal Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Je-seong), which is already investigating the People Power Party’s accusation against the Ministry of Justice for unauthorized access to former Vice Minister Kim’s travel information.

On the 6th of last month, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, submitted a related public interest report to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, stating, "Before the Ministry of Justice imposed an emergency travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim, who was a civilian at the time in March 2019, frontline officials were mobilized to illegally access travel information over 100 times."

At that time, Floor Leader Joo also raised suspicions that the emergency travel ban request was based on a past case that had been cleared of charges and was prepared without the official seal of the head of the investigating agency.

Furthermore, recent media reports revealed that the emergency travel ban request submitted by Prosecutor Lee included the case number (Central District Prosecutors' Office 2013 Criminal Case No. 65889) of a sexual assault case in which former Vice Minister Kim had already been cleared in 2013 by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Later, the emergency travel ban approval request submitted to the Ministry of Justice listed an internal investigation number ‘Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office 2019 Internal Investigation No. 1’ instead of the previously cited case number.

The case number for which charges had already been cleared cannot be used for an emergency travel ban request. Moreover, the Internal Investigation No. 1 at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in 2019 was only assigned a case number on May 30, two months later, for a completely different case. This has led to suspicions that all these documents were fabricated solely to prevent former Vice Minister Kim from leaving the country.

Additionally, the emergency travel ban request and approval request bore only Prosecutor Lee’s name and lacked the official seal of the head of the affiliated prosecutors' office. It is also alleged that Lee Sung-yoon, then Head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, contacted the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office to request retroactive approval by formally entering the internal investigation number, but was refused.

Regarding this, Floor Leader Joo demanded the introduction of a special prosecutor at the emergency response committee meeting held the day before, stating, "Serious illegalities were repeatedly committed during the Ministry of Justice’s emergency travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim two years ago."

He argued, "This is a case where illegalities and corruption were committed at the behest of President Moon Jae-in’s words to ‘stake the organization’s fate on this investigation.’ The special prosecutor must thoroughly uncover the illegalities of then Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki and current Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Lee Sung-yoon."