Prosecution Investigates Yeowoon-guk and Park Seong-jun Over 'Inappropriate Call' Controversy

Yeowoon-guk, Deputy Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (left), and Park Seong-jun, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] On the 9th, the head of a civic group who requested an investigation into the 'inappropriate phone call' between Yeo Woon-guk, Deputy Chief of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (PCC), and Park Seong-jun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was questioned by the prosecution.

The Criminal Division 3 of the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Oh Ki-chan) summoned and investigated Lee Jong-bae, the representative of the Action Alliance for Restoring the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon), who requested the investigation into Deputy Chief Yeo and Representative Park, starting at 10 a.m. that day.

Deputy Chief Yeo and Representative Park sparked controversy after allegations surfaced that they had a phone call and arranged a dinner appointment shortly after the PCC's national audit in October.

In response, the PCC explained that since the Deputy Chief oversees general administrative duties including liaison with the National Assembly, he cannot avoid or refuse calls from members of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Furthermore, the PCC stated that the Deputy Chief politely declined the invitation for a meal at the end of a call that was merely a courtesy check-in, without specifying a date, and that no discussion related to the investigation was included in the conversation.

However, concerns were raised that it was inappropriate for Deputy Chief Yeo, who is the lead prosecutor in the 'Complaint Fabrication' allegation case involving Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate and a suspect, to have a phone call and discuss a dinner appointment with Representative Park, who serves as a joint spokesperson for the campaign of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and a rival, especially during the sensitive period close to the presidential election. Representative Park had previously urged the National Assembly to conduct a thorough investigation into the 'Complaint Fabrication' allegations against Yoon.

On the 18th of last month, Representative Lee submitted a request for investigation to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office via the National Sinmungo platform, accusing Deputy Chief Yeo and Representative Park of violating the State Public Officials Act, the Public Official Election Act, and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. He also cited a violation of Article 22 of the PCC Act, which mandates political neutrality for PCC officials, against Deputy Chief Yeo.

At that time, Representative Lee stated, "It is a clear violation of Article 22 of the PCC Act, which requires political neutrality, for the Deputy Chief of the PCC, who is investigating an opposition party's presidential candidate, to have a phone call and even arrange a meeting with a key figure from the ruling party's presidential candidate's campaign. The fact that they discussed a meeting, not just a phone call, suggests an intention to direct or discuss investigative directions that could harm the opposition candidate. If any related content was discussed during the call, it could also be considered a violation of Article 65 of the State Public Officials Act."

Representative Lee further pointed out, "Although investigation is at the discretion of investigative agencies, if the Deputy Chief discussed investigation-related matters with a member of a specific campaign of a leading presidential candidate and reflected that in the investigation, it is a clear abuse of discretion and can be seen as using his position to conduct electioneering, thus violating the Public Official Election Act." He added, "If Representative Park made an improper request related to the investigation, it would constitute a violation of Article 5 of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act."

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office forwarded the case requested by Representative Lee to the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Branch Chief Hyeong Jin-hwi). The case was then assigned to the Criminal Division 3, with Senior Prosecutor Ryu Mo in charge of the investigation.

The questioning on that day lasted about an hour, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The prosecution reportedly asked Representative Lee about each of the allegations he cited in the request for investigation against the two individuals. In particular, the prosecution questioned why the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act violation, which lacks a penalty clause, was included in the request regarding Representative Park.

In response, Representative Lee explained, "Even if there is no criminal penalty clause, if a violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act is found during the investigation, it can be forwarded to the relevant authority to impose a fine, which is also part of the investigative process."

Meanwhile, the case in which Representative Lee filed a complaint with the PCC against Yoon Seok-yeol and Prosecutor Son Jun-sung regarding the 'Complaint Fabrication' allegations, and the Democratic Party lawmakers Park Ju-min, Kim Yong-min, Min Byung-duk, and Jeon Yong-gi reported them to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for obstruction of business by intimidation, has also been assigned to the same prosecutor's office. However, no investigation related to this was conducted during the questioning on that day.