People Power Party: "Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Department Blocked Investigation into Kim Hak-ui's Illegal Departure"

Members of the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Jo Soo-jin (from left), Jeon Ju-hye, Kim Do-eup, and Yoo Sang-bum, are issuing a statement on the 21st at the National Assembly Communication Office regarding the "travel ban on former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui." (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] Regarding the allegations of illegal travel ban on former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, the People Power Party claimed that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Department obstructed the investigation.

On the afternoon of the 21st, members of the People Power Party's Legislation and Judiciary Committee stated at the National Assembly, "It has been revealed that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Department knew about the illegal travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim but exerted pressure to halt the investigation."

The committee members emphasized, "According to additional public interest reports, on April 5, 2019, the Ministry of Justice requested the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Department to investigate the 'unknown person leaking travel ban information to Kim Hak-ui's side, enabling overseas escape,' and the department transferred the case to the Anyang District Prosecutors' Office. When the Anyang investigation team began investigating a senior official among immigration officers, the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Department intervened in the investigation team’s inquiry, demanding reports on the reasons for the investigation and pressured them to stop further investigation," they said.

They continued, "The investigation team discovered numerous items such as the 'illegal emergency travel ban request,' 'approval request,' and 'KakaoTalk group chat contents' prepared by dispatched prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, and attempted to investigate charges including 'forgery of official documents by impersonation' and 'forgery of false official documents.' However, they were pressured by the Ministry of Justice’s investigation request and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Department to investigate only the charge of 'leaking travel ban information to Kim Hak-ui’s side to enable overseas escape' and not to investigate the rest," they added.

Furthermore, the committee members claimed, "In the investigation result report submitted to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Department on July 4, 2019, the investigation team wrote that 'amid urgent nighttime circumstances, the procedure for preparing related documents was carried out, and it was confirmed that a post-report was made to the head of the Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, so no further progress plans exist.' The statement that a post-report was made to the head of the Eastern District Prosecutors' Office was included at the request of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Department," they asserted.