Supreme Prosecutors' Office Reassigns 'Kim Hak-ui Illegal Departure' Case to Suwon District Prosecutors' Office... Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Division to Lead

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] In March 2019, during the process of imposing a 'departure ban' on former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, a serious procedural illegality was revealed, and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office reassigned the related case, which was under investigation by the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office headquarters.

Amid allegations that several key officials currently holding important positions in the Ministry of Justice and prosecution, including Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Lee Seong-yoon, and Supreme Prosecutors' Office Criminal Department Chief Lee Jong-geun, were involved in the illegal departure ban on former Vice Minister Kim, it is interpreted as a measure taken due to concerns that the investigation command line at the Anyang branch consists of prosecutors classified as the so-called 'Lee Seong-yoon faction' within the prosecution, and that the Criminal Department Chief, who is the subject of suspicion, was in a position to receive reports and direct the Anyang branch's investigation, which raised issues.

On the 13th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that the case related to the departure ban on former Vice Minister Kim, which was under investigation by the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, was reassigned to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office headquarters.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office explained the reason for the case reassignment as "to more faithfully investigate the allegations raised regarding the 'Kim Hak-ui departure ban case.'"

At the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, it is known that Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Jeong-seop, who investigated former Vice Minister Kim's case as part of the Kim Hak-ui investigation team led by Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office Chief Yeo Hwan-seop, has been assigned to handle this case.

With the reassignment of the case from the Criminal Division 3 of the Anyang branch (headed by Chief Prosecutor Kim Je-seong) to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office department overseeing the case also changed from the Criminal Department to the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Department.

Former Vice Minister Kim attempted to depart for Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2019 amid growing public calls for reinvestigation, but was prevented from boarding the plane at the last moment by an emergency departure ban imposed by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Team.

However, it was revealed through a public interest report to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission that Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who was dispatched to the Past Affairs Investigation Team at the time, submitted an emergency departure ban request to the Incheon Airport Immigration Office using a case number from a case that had already been cleared of charges years earlier, and that former Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki and then Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Department Chief Lee Seong-yoon were involved in the subsequent approval process.

It was confirmed that the emergency departure 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 of charges by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in 2013, and that the emergency departure ban approval request submitted later to the Ministry of Justice replaced the case number listed in the initial request with an investigation number 'Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office 2019 Internal Investigation No. 1.'

Since a case number from a case already cleared of charges cannot be used for an emergency departure ban request, and the 2019 Internal Investigation No. 1 case at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office only received an official case number on May 30 of the same year, two months later, it is highly suspected that all these documents were fabricated solely to prevent former Vice Minister Kim from leaving the country.

Inside and outside the prosecution, there are also criticisms that Prosecutor Lee, who was dispatched as a member of the fact-finding team at the time, was only granted access to review records to assist external committee members and did not have the authority to investigate the Kim Hak-ui case himself, meaning he had no authority to assign an investigation number or request an emergency departure ban on his own.

Additionally, the emergency departure ban request and approval request at the time bore only Prosecutor Lee's name and lacked the official seal of the affiliated district prosecutor's office chief. There are also allegations that then Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Department Chief Lee Seong-yoon contacted the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office to request retroactive approval by entering the case as an official investigation number, but this was refused.

Former Vice Minister Kim, who was suspected of sexual bribery and bribery, was initially cleared during the prosecution investigation process but was re-investigated following the 2018 decision by the Prosecution Past Affairs Committee. He was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in October last year and was taken into custody in court.