Will the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) Launch a Full-Scale Investigation into Yoon Seok-yeol Riding on the Joint Inspection Results Announcement?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The joint inspection results announced on the 14th by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office contained content raising issues about the period when former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was in charge, drawing attention to whether it will also affect related investigations by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo).

The third investigation division of Gong-su-cheo (Chief Prosecutor Choi Seok-gyu) is investigating former Prosecutor General Yoon on charges of obstructing the investigation into former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's alleged perjury coaching (abuse of authority and obstruction of rights exercise).

Among these, Minister Park pointed out on the same day that former Prosecutor General Yoon ignored internal opposition without persuasion during the process of reassigning the former Prime Minister Han’s case. He also emphasized that Yoon suddenly replaced the prosecutor who had been enthusiastically investigating despite the voluminous records and the imminent statute of limitations, thereby inviting suspicions of protecting his own people.

At that time, there were procedural problems under former Prosecutor General Yoon’s orders, and accordingly, suspicions that he was trying to shield the investigation team for former Prime Minister Han inevitably arose.

All of these are related to the charges under Gong-su-cheo’s scrutiny. The core content of the charges currently being investigated by Gong-su-cheo against former Prosecutor General Yoon is that he intervened by instructing the Han case to be assigned to the Human Rights Department instead of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department and excluding Lim Eun-jung, then the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Policy Research Officer, from related investigative work.

Accordingly, Gong-su-cheo is highly likely to accelerate the investigation into former Prosecutor General Yoon by referring to these joint inspection results.

Previously, Gong-su-cheo requested inspection materials related to former Prosecutor General Yoon, including the Han case, from the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, but it is reported that they have not yet received the materials. From Gong-su-cheo’s standpoint, there was some reluctance to investigate former Prosecutor General Yoon before the inspection results were announced. However, with this announcement by the Ministry of Justice, that obstacle has been removed.