Prosecutors' Office to Announce Investigation Results on April 4 Regarding 'Alleged Report Solicitation'... Attention on Yoon President-Elect's Disposition

Investigation Drawn Out for About 8 Months Concludes... Prosecution Review Committee Recommends 'Non-Indictment Opinion'
Possible Non-Detention Indictment of Son Junsung and Kim Woong... Kim Jinwook, Head of the Corruption Investigation Office, Deliberates for Two Weeks

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) announced the results of the accusation solicitation suspicion case on the 4th and will conclude the investigation. The HCIA has been handling this case for about eight months since September last year.

The HCIA announced on the 3rd that it will hold a briefing at 10 a.m. on the 4th regarding the accusation solicitation suspicion. Attention is focused on what kind of disposition will be made against President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.

Son Jun-sung, the Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, is accused of instructing prosecutors under his command in 2020, while serving as the Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, to draft accusations against then ruling party figures and collect information, and effectively soliciting accusations by delivering the accusation documents to Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party.

The HCIA began the investigation by registering Son and President-elect Yoon, who was the Prosecutor General at the time of the incident, as suspects within a week after related reports surfaced in September last year. Subsequently, the HCIA conducted searches and seizures on Son, prosecutors from the Supervisory Office at the time, Kim, and People Power Party officials, and from October, they began summoning suspects and witnesses for thorough investigations. Kim Gun-hee, the wife of President-elect Yoon, and Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, were also registered as suspects.

Since December last year, the HCIA investigated allegations regarding the preparation of judicial surveillance documents on President-elect Yoon and Son, but the investigation was postponed due to Son's health issues. As the presidential election approached, the investigation into the accusation solicitation suspicion was also temporarily suspended. The HCIA is likely to send Son and Kim to trial without detention.

On the 19th, the HCIA's Prosecution Review Committee submitted a proposal to indict Son and Kim. However, after four hours of deliberation, the committee recommended non-prosecution. With differing opinions between the investigation team and the Prosecution Review Committee, Kim Jin-wook, the head of the HCIA who holds the final decision-making authority on case handling, deliberated for about two weeks.

If the HCIA decides to follow the Prosecution Review Committee's recommendation and not prosecute Son and Kim, it is highly likely that President-elect Yoon and others will also undergo non-prosecution procedures. However, the HCIA may choose not to make a final disposition regarding President-elect Yoon.