Investigation by Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in 2019
Allegations of Cover-up in the Inspection of Cho and Ryu Emerge
Forced Investigation Initiated, Delayed to Lower Priority
[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Cho and Sehee Jang] The background behind the resumption of the prosecution’s investigation into the so-called 'blacklist allegations'?which accused public institution heads with remaining terms of office of being forced to resign immediately after the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration?after three years is known to have been influenced by the cases involving former Busan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Yoo Jae-su and former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. After indicting the Ministry of Environment case in 2019, the prosecution conducted some witness investigations regarding the Ministry of Industry, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Unification, and Ministry of Education cases, but it appears that the investigation into the blacklist allegations could not continue once forced investigations into former Deputy Mayor Yoo and others began.
According to a compilation of Asia Economy’s coverage on the 1st, the case filed by the Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, in 2019?alleging that the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Unification forced heads of affiliated organizations to submit resignations?was under investigation by the Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office at the time. The initial person responsible for the investigation was former Chief Prosecutor Jinwoo Joo. He prosecuted former Minister Kim Eun-kyung and others in connection with the Ministry of Environment blacklist case but left the prosecution after being reassigned to a position considered a demotion. However, the remaining cases, including the Ministry of Industry case, were left to his successor. In a recent phone interview with Asia Economy, former Chief Prosecutor Joo said, “Before the prosecution personnel reshuffle, we had conducted witness investigations and created records for the blacklist allegations cases such as the Ministry of Industry,” adding, “I thought my successor would pick up the blacklist case.”
The successor to former Chief Prosecutor Joo was current Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office Criminal Division 2 Chief Prosecutor Jeongseop Lee. After being transferred to the position of head of Criminal Division 6 at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office in August 2019, he reportedly reviewed the records of the blacklist allegations case. In October of that year, he initiated an investigation into allegations that the Economic and Social Research Council under the Prime Minister’s Office forced heads of national research institutes to submit resignations. During this process, there was a plan to conduct a face-to-face investigation of former Unification Research Institute Director Kiwoong Son, who was under the Economic and Social Research Council. However, former Director Son was instead investigated in writing, and it is reported that a related opinion statement was submitted in November of that year.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office changed rapidly. When allegations surfaced that former Minister Cho Kuk, while serving as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, had covered up the inspection of former Deputy Mayor Yoo, the prosecution launched a forced investigation. On October 30, 2019, the Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office simultaneously raided four companies, including Daebo Construction in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, signaling the start of this investigation. About a month after beginning the forced investigation, on December 13 of that year, former Deputy Mayor Yoo was arrested and indicted on charges including bribery. Former Minister Cho was indicted on January 17 of the following year on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of official duties.
In legal circles, it is believed that the Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office had no choice but to shelve the blacklist allegations investigation due to the investigation into the cover-up of the inspection of Yoo Jae-su. At that time, not only the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office but also the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office were conducting large-scale investigations into the family of former Minister Cho Kuk. It is said that the scale of Criminal Division 6, which consisted of six prosecutors including the chief prosecutor, did not have the capacity to handle the blacklist allegations as well. A lawyer with a prosecution background said, “The blacklist allegations case was large in scale, so unlike ordinary civil cases, it would have been impossible to investigate it simultaneously with the Yoo Jae-su inspection cover-up case,” adding, “At that time, the prosecution’s investigative resources were concentrated on former Minister Cho Kuk, so it was even more so.”
Chief Prosecutor Lee personally appeared in court to maintain the prosecution after the indictments of former Deputy Mayor Yoo and former Minister Cho. Former Deputy Mayor Yoo’s conviction was confirmed by the Supreme Court the day before. The Supreme Court’s First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) upheld the original sentence that sentenced former Deputy Mayor Yoo to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence. The trial of former Minister Cho is ongoing under the Criminal Division 21-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Seongyoung Ma). Currently, the trial is suspended due to the prosecution’s request for recusal of the presiding judge.
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