The Corruption Investigation Office Indicts Former Busan District Prosecutor Without Detention for 'Forgery of Complaint'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A former prosecutor accused of forging a complainant's accusation letter has been referred to criminal trial.

On the 27th, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division 1 (acting chief prosecutor Lee Daehwan) of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) announced that former Busan District Prosecutors' Office prosecutor Yoon was indicted without detention on charges of forgery of official and private documents.

Previously, former prosecutor Yoon was accused of forging a private document by copying another accusation letter with different content previously submitted by the same complainant and filing it in the investigation records after the complainant's accusation letter was lost in December 2015.

In this process, he was also indicted on charges of forgery of official documents for falsely including and printing a statement in an investigation report under the name of a prosecution investigator that "the complainant submitted accusation letters with the same content," and filing it in the investigation records.

However, charges of using forged documents and obstruction of official duties by deception were dismissed due to lack of prosecution rights, considering the binding effect of a ruling finalized in 2020.

A CIO official stated, "The report was forged to make it appear as if the complainant repeatedly submitted the same accusation letter, causing the approver to be misled," adding, "This deceived the complainant and affected the rights of the people." The official further explained, "Considering that the statute of limitations is approaching in December and that forced investigation is practically impossible, the indictment was made based on sufficiently secured evidence."

This case became controversial after it was revealed that former prosecutor Yoon is the daughter of the chairman of the country's largest financial holding company. Former prosecutor Yoon was previously convicted and received a suspended sentence of six months in prison for forging and using the 'cover' of an accusation letter in 2018.

The CIO plans to continue investigating a former high-ranking prosecutor official suspected of attempting to cover up the case.