Prosecutors Express "Strong Suspicion of Involvement" in Non-Indictment Decisions for Cho Kuk, Im Jong-seok, and Lee Kwang-cheol

From the left, Im Jong-seok, former Chief of Staff to the President, Cho Kuk, former Minister of Justice, and Lee Kwang-cheol, Secretary for Civil Affairs.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] On the 13th, it was revealed that the prosecution, which has been investigating the allegations of 'Ulsan mayor election interference and directive investigation,' decided not to indict former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, former Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, and Secretary Lee Kwang-cheol of the Civil Affairs Office due to 'insufficient evidence,' while noting in the non-indictment document that "there is a strong suspicion that they participated in the crime."

According to the notification of non-indictment reasons disclosed by Rep. Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party on the same day, the prosecution stated, "It has been confirmed that the Song Cheol-ho mayor's side negotiated with the opposing candidates according to an election strategy to persuade them, and (in the work notebook of former Ulsan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Song Byung-ki) suspects Im Jong-seok, Cho Kuk, and Han Byung-do are mentioned," adding, "There is a strong suspicion that the suspects participated in the crime through sequential communication."

However, the prosecution explained the reason for dismissal as "the suspects deny this, and it is difficult to specifically confirm discussions or instructions related to candidate bribery solely based on the entries in former Deputy Mayor Song Byung-ki's work notebook."

Additionally, regarding the suspicion that former Minister Cho was involved in a directive investigation against then Ulsan Mayor Kim Ki-hyun during his tenure as Presidential Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, the prosecution judged, "There are circumstances indicating that he was aware of the ongoing police investigation into Kim Ki-hyun, but it is difficult to conclude that he was involved in the directive investigation based on that alone."

Regarding Secretary Lee Kwang-cheol, the prosecution also stated, "Although there is a strong suspicion that he participated in the crime as he received intelligence about Kim Ki-hyun, reported it to Baek Won-woo (former Civil Affairs Secretary), and shortly after this intelligence was passed to the police, staff of the Civil Affairs Office monitored related developments, it is difficult to conclude that he was involved in the directive investigation to the extent of being an accomplice," explaining the reason for dismissal.

Former Minister Cho and former Chief of Staff Im were suspected of being involved in ensuring that current Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho was nominated as the Democratic Party candidate without an intra-party primary.

At the time, it was alleged that they urged former Democratic Party Supreme Council member Im Dong-ho, who was a competitor of Mayor Song, to withdraw from the primary by offering public positions such as Consul General in Kobe, Japan, or heads of public institutions, and similarly pressured another competitor, lawyer Shim Gyu-myeong, by offering the presidency of Korea East-West Power.

The prosecution acknowledged that shortly after Mayor Song met with former Chief of Staff Im at the Blue House in October 2017, on the 24th of the same month, he conveyed to former Council member Im that "Shim Gyu-myeong seems to be settled on not running. If former Council member Im also withdraws, he can be given a desired position."

The prosecution stated in the non-indictment document, "It is recognized that Mayor Song Cheol-ho established the election preparation organization 'Gongeoptap Planning Committee' and formulated an election strategy to persuade intra-party competitor former Supreme Council member Im Dong-ho to withdraw so that he could be nominated without an intra-party primary."

It was also confirmed that former Council member Im repeatedly expressed to former Chief of Staff Im and former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Han Byung-do his desire for positions such as 'Consul General in Osaka,' and indicated to former Senior Secretary Han that he would not run for Ulsan mayor if he obtained the desired position.

Notably, the non-indictment document revealed that former Council member Im repeatedly inquired about the appointment as 'Consul General in Osaka' to former Senior Secretary Han, but received a response from Han that "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opposes the Osaka Consul General position, so how about another position?"

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Public Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kwon Sang-dae), which investigated this case, effectively concluded the investigation by indicting Lee Jin-seok, head of the Blue House National Situation Room, without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act on the 9th.