"The Investigation Team Is Losing Public Trust... If Such Investigations Continue, a Special Prosecutor Is Inevitable"
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] After the arrest warrant for Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, who is at the center of the preferential treatment allegations in the Daejang-dong development in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, was dismissed, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential pre-candidate of the People Power Party, raised his voice, saying, "If the prosecution continues like this, it will even be called the Seocho-dong branch of Lee Jae-myung's camp."
On the morning of the 15th, Candidate Yoon posted a message titled "I will not tolerate the exoneration investigation of Lee Jae-myung" on his Facebook, saying, "In my 26 years as a prosecutor, I have never seen an investigation method like this."
He continued, "While investigating massive corruption involving 75.5 billion won in bribes and 110 billion won in breach of trust, Kim Man-bae was investigated only once," adding, "When President Moon Jae-in said, 'Investigate swiftly and thoroughly,' the investigation was abruptly stopped, and the arrest warrant was requested but immediately dismissed. How can an investigation be conducted like this?" he criticized.
Candidate Yoon further stated, "Is it because they tried to follow only the 'swift' part of President Moon's order and left out 'thorough' that this accident happened? The arrest warrant was requested hastily even though the suspect was not detained, as if being chased. Isn't this a directive to swiftly grant exoneration to the higher-ups?" He pointed out, "The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team, while requesting Kim Man-bae's arrest warrant, listed the 5 billion won given to Assemblyman Kwak Sang-do's son as a bribe but did not directly investigate Assemblyman Kwak himself. They also skipped the minimum supplementary investigation needed to break Kim Man-bae's various false excuses."
Referring to the prosecution's failure to conduct a search and seizure at Seongnam City Hall for over 20 days during the 'Daejang-dong Gate' investigation, Yoon said, "There are obviously reports related to the Daejang-dong development left at Seongnam City Hall, so why are they neglecting to conduct a search and seizure?" He added, "Not conducting a search and seizure at Seongnam City Hall while claiming to uncover accomplices in breach of trust means they are deliberately allowing the arrest warrant to be dismissed."
Finally, Candidate Yoon issued a clear warning to the top leadership of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation officials, saying, "The investigation team has already lost the trust of the people. If investigations that succumb to power continue, we will have no choice but to move to a special prosecutor. More than 70% of the public do not trust the prosecution investigation team and demand a special prosecutor, which is something the prosecution investigation team has brought upon themselves."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
