[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae criticized the prosecution's indictment of Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, on charges of defaming Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon as an "abuse of prosecutorial power."
On the afternoon of the 4th, former Minister Chu posted on her Facebook under the title "Is it really appropriate to avoid the investigations the prosecution should be conducting and instead file charges to support a private civil lawsuit?" She claimed that the prosecution's indictment of Chairman Yoo was intended to assist Prosecutor Han, who filed a lawsuit seeking damages against Yoo.
Former Minister Chu said, "After a year, the core of the case has disappeared, leaving only gossip," adding, "Like the proverb 'When the crow flies, the pear falls,' the prosecution promptly indicted Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, for defamation of Han Dong-hoon as soon as the new Prosecutor General was appointed yesterday."
She pointed out, "The essence of the related case is whether Channel A reporter Lee and the sitting prosecutor conspired, and the investigation is currently at a standstill due to the prosecutor's refusal to cooperate."
She added, "Chairman Yoo at the time identified circumstances of external parties accessing the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation's account and informed about this fact."
Former Minister Chu repeatedly emphasized, citing conversations between Prosecutor Han and reporter Lee reported in the media, as well as dialogues between whistleblower Ji and reporter Lee in the 'Channel A attempted coercion' case, that "Chairman Yoo's suspicions and fears at the time were not baseless."
She argued, "The obligation to clarify this lies with the investigative authorities, not with the citizens who feel harmed," and stated, "As soon as possible, the truth should be uncovered through forensic analysis of Han Dong-hoon's smartphone to resolve public suspicions and clear the prosecution's unprecedented disgrace called 'collusion between prosecution and media.'"
She criticized, "A citizen who felt uneasy about personal information publicly apologized, yet Prosecutor Han filed a massive 500 million won damage lawsuit against him, and the prosecution, as if waiting for this, even filed charges to support their own member, which cannot be but called an abuse of prosecutorial power."
She added, "Prosecutorial power should be exercised to protect the rights of the people and must not be recklessly used to support a specific individual's civil lawsuit."
Chairman Yoo revealed in December 2019 on his YouTube broadcast 'Yoo Si-min's Alileo' that "Although I will not disclose how I confirmed it for now, I verified that the prosecution had looked into the main bank account of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation."
Subsequently, Chairman Yoo continued raising suspicions, appearing on radio broadcasts stating, "Han Dong-hoon, then head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division, monitored Alileo in real-time from the prosecution during the Cho Kuk incident," and "It is a lie to say there was no interest. So they said, 'We can't leave this as it is. Let's find something,' and it seems they also searched the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation's account..."
On July 24 last year, when the prosecution's Channel A case investigation review committee was held, Yoo pointed to Prosecutor Han, who was suspected of involvement in the Channel A case, saying on a radio broadcast, "It was judged highly likely that the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division, where Han Dong-hoon was, looked into the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation's account."
The Action Alliance for the Restoration of the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon) filed a complaint against Chairman Yoo in August last year for defamation and disclosure of official secrets, alleging that Yoo spread false information about Prosecutor Han.
On January 22, Chairman Yoo admitted in a statement distributed through the foundation, "Everyone has the right to raise suspicions, but when exercising that right, one must bear the burden of proof," and "However, I failed to prove the suspicions I raised. I judge those suspicions were not true," acknowledging that his claims were false.
He added, "Above all, I sincerely apologize to all prosecution officials for raising suspicions that the prosecution surveilled me due to false allegations," and stated, "I do not think an apology alone is sufficient, and I will humbly accept any form of accountability."
Prosecutor Han, in a statement released the same afternoon Yoo admitted his wrongdoing, said, "Despite my repeated clarifications, Yoo has repeatedly engaged in specific false propaganda against me over the past year," and "I have already suffered great damage, and the public who believed Yoo's lies have also suffered greatly."
He also said, "Yoo appeared on a broadcast on the morning of July 24 last year, the day of the investigation review committee on me, making specific false statements," and "He intended to incite the public by saying, 'Since Yoo Si-min publicly named Han Dong-hoon and specified the timing on the broadcast, it must be true,' and to negatively influence my investigation review."
He added, "Yoo did not lie out of ignorance but used his powerful influence to slander me," and "I will consider necessary measures regarding the damages already incurred."
The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Park Hyun-chul), which investigated the complaint against Chairman Yoo, indicted him without detention on defamation charges on the 3rd.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor Han filed a lawsuit seeking 500 million won in damages against Chairman Yoo at the Seoul Central District Court on the 9th of last month.
At that time, Prosecutor Han's side explained the background of the lawsuit, saying, "Prosecutor Han was unjustly stigmatized as a public official who illegally used public authority for personal revenge by Chairman Yoo," and "Not only Prosecutor Han but also many citizens who were deceived by Yoo's fake news for a long time are victims, so legal action today is inevitable to prevent recurrence of such fake news."
They added, "The lawsuit seeks damages for the malicious fake news spread by Chairman Yoo over about one and a half years, claiming that 'Prosecutor Han tracked Yoo Si-min's related accounts at the prosecution's Anti-Corruption Division in late November or early December 2019 for a background investigation on me.'"
Prosecutor Han's side pointed out, "Despite multiple official denials by Prosecutor Han from September 2019 to December 15, 2020, Chairman Yoo repeatedly spread such falsehoods on his YouTube broadcast 'Yoo Si-min's Alileo' (December 2019), MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' exclusive interview (on the morning of July 24, 2020, the day of the prosecution's investigation review committee on Prosecutor Han), Sisa Journal exclusive interview (August 11, 2020), and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation special broadcast 'I Want to See Us Together' (December 15, 2020)," and "Such 'fake news' was infinitely propagated through social networking services (SNS) and others."
They further stated, "Prosecutor Han was unjustly stigmatized as a public official who illegally used public authority for personal revenge by Chairman Yoo," and "Chairman Yoo admitted the falsehood only in January this year after being asked to provide evidence by the media and civil society."
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