Former Prosecutor General's Department Chief: "I Never Told Anyone to Cover Up Kim Hak-ui's Illegal Detention Investigation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Kim Hyung-geun, head of the Bucheon Branch of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office and former head of the Investigation Command Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, denied allegations that he ever instructed frontline prosecutors to cover up the illegal travel ban investigation involving former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui.

On the 27th, Kim appeared as a witness at the trial of Lee Seong-yoon, Research Fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute (Senior Prosecutor General), held before the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon), where he explained the circumstances during his tenure as head of the Investigation Command Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2019.

Lee's defense attorney asked Kim whether the testimony of Lee Hyun-cheol, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office (former head of the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office), who previously appeared as a witness, was accurate. Kim responded, "I recall that a report meant for the Inspection Department came to me (Investigation Command Division), and I called then-branch chief Lee Hyun-cheol to verify internal circumstances, mentioning that decisions regarding prosecutor misconduct should be made at the frontline offices."

He added, "While investigating the leak of information about the travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui, I naturally asked why the investigation into the illegal travel ban was initiated."

Kim also stated, "It was not an instruction to halt the investigation as the branch chief suggested. While conducting this investigation, when another investigation started, I might have generally remarked on why that investigation was being conducted, noting that at the time, it was a situation where former Vice Minister Kim could not be allowed to leave the country."

However, he added, "Considering the branch chief's (Lee's) testimony, I might have said something like that, but I do not precisely remember what I said."

When the court asked again, "So, when you told the branch chief to handle the misconduct report on their own, do you mean the branch chief misunderstood it as an instruction to cover up the illegal travel ban investigation?" Kim replied, "That is what I think."

This appears to differ from the earlier testimony of Chief Prosecutor Lee. Lee testified that in 2019, while serving as head of the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, when he reported to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office that there were indications the travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim was unlawfully imposed, Kim called him and said, "Please resolve this at the Anyang Branch level; isn't it something that should be handled there?"