The Corruption Investigation Office holds Prosecution Review Committee today... Discussing indictment of former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyeong-jun on 'bribery' charges

Attention on Whether This Will Be the First Prosecution Case by the Public Corruption Investigation Office

'Sponsor suspicion' former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] On the 28th, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (Gong-su-cheo) held a Prosecution Deliberation Committee meeting to discuss whether to indict former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun (52, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 25) on bribery charges.

Former Chief Prosecutor Kim is a figure who was previously arrested and indicted in the so-called "sponsor prosecutor" case, accused of receiving money and entertainment from his high school classmate Kim (52). In 2018, the Supreme Court confirmed a suspended prison sentence for him.

If Gong-su-cheo indicts former Chief Prosecutor Kim, it will be the first case directly prosecuted by Gong-su-cheo. Previously, Gong-su-cheo investigated Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon as the "first case" related to allegations of "special recruitment of dismissed teachers," but since Gong-su-cheo only has investigative authority over education superintendents without prosecution rights under the Gong-su-cheo Act, it transferred the case documents and evidence to a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which has jurisdiction, in September last year, requesting prosecution.

A Gong-su-cheo official said, "The Prosecution Deliberation Committee was held from 2 p.m. for two and a half hours today," but added, "However, we ask for your understanding that we cannot disclose specific agenda items or deliberation details."

However, while investigations into other cases Gong-su-cheo is handling, such as the "report solicitation" case involving Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Kim Woong, a People Power Party lawmaker, have not been completed, it is known that the Gong-su-cheo prosecution department recently reached a preliminary conclusion on whether to indict former Chief Prosecutor Kim on bribery charges. Therefore, it is highly likely that the Prosecution Deliberation Committee discussed the indictment decision for former Chief Prosecutor Kim at today's meeting.

The Prosecution Deliberation Committee is an advisory body that reviews Gong-su-cheo's prosecution functions and is established under Article 34 (Investigation Deliberation Committee, etc.) of the Gong-su-cheo Case Handling Rules.

According to the Gong-su-cheo regulation, "Guidelines on the Operation of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division Prosecution Deliberation Committee," the committee consists of at least 10 external members, including one chairperson, and deliberates and resolves matters such as ▲whether to initiate prosecution or request prosecution ▲maintenance of prosecution ▲whether to appeal or file an objection.

In the committee, the lead prosecutor in charge of the investigation or the prosecutor involved in the trial of the case under review serves as the committee's responsible prosecutor. The committee convenes with the attendance of at least one-third of the total members and resolves matters by a majority vote of the attending members. The committee meetings are held privately, and the list of participating members, deliberation contents, and deliberation opinion documents are, in principle, not disclosed.

Article 11 (Effect of Deliberation and Resolution) of the guidelines stipulates that "the prosecutors of the investigation division must respect the results of the committee's deliberation," but the resolution does not bind the Gong-su-cheo prosecutors.

Former Chief Prosecutor Kim is accused of receiving money and entertainment worth approximately 57 million KRW from March to September 2016 after providing convenience in a criminal case for former prosecutor colleague Park (52), while serving as head of the Securities Crime Joint Investigation Unit at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in 2015.

Gong-su-cheo's Investigation Division 2 (led by Chief Prosecutor Kim Seong-moon) formally launched an investigation in July last year by registering former Chief Prosecutor Kim and Park as suspects on charges of bribery receipt and bribery offering under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, respectively.

Previously, the prosecution investigating former Chief Prosecutor Kim's "sponsor prosecutor" case judged that there was no evidence of bribery related to Park, but the investigation was reopened after sponsor Kim filed a complaint with the police in October 2019. The case was then transferred from the prosecution to Gong-su-cheo.

Investigation Division 2 of Gong-su-cheo summoned complainant Kim for questioning last month, and also summoned former Chief Prosecutor Kim and Park for investigation. Recently, the related materials were handed over to the prosecution department, which is reported to have completed its decision on whether to indict.