[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Kim Jin-wook, head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo), stated on the 4th regarding the handling of the illegal travel ban case of former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, "I will review the records and make a conclusion next week." The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office transferred the case involving the prosecutor related to the suspicion of illegal travel ban on former Deputy Minister Kim to Gong-su-cheo the day before.
On the morning of the same day at the Government Complex Gwacheon, Kim told reporters, "The volume of records piled up is as tall as a person, so it takes quite some time to review them once, but I will do it quickly within a reasonable period."
Regarding the direction of case handling, he explained, "We may investigate directly, or the prosecution that has been investigating so far may continue. There is also a possibility of transferring it to the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency, but the records will provide the answer as to which direction is appropriate." This was an additional explanation following his response to reporters' question the day before about whether the case would be immediately re-transferred to the prosecution or investigated directly by Gong-su-cheo, where he said, "Those are not the only two options."
The subjects are Lee Sung-yoon, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Lee Gyu-won, a prosecutor of the Past Affairs Investigation Team at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the time. Lee Sung-yoon is suspected of exerting external pressure on the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, which first investigated this case, while serving as head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. The investigation team sent a summons to Lee Sung-yoon based on the complaint received on the 18th, but he did not comply.
Instead, Lee submitted a written statement describing the situation at the time. Denying all allegations such as pressure to halt the investigation, he stated, "Regarding the emergency travel ban on Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won in June 2019, the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office never directed the Anyang branch not to investigate or instructed not to notify the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office."
In particular, Lee argued that this case should be transferred to Gong-su-cheo according to the Gong-su-cheo Act. According to Article 25, Paragraph 2 of the Gong-su-cheo Act, if allegations against a high-ranking prosecutor are found, the case must be transferred. Prosecutor Lee, who is suspected of falsifying case numbers on the emergency travel ban request for former Deputy Minister Kim, is also reported to be demanding transfer to Gong-su-cheo, just like Lee Sung-yoon.
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