Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo held a press conference on the 25th at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, expressing his position on the compromise proposal for the complete removal of prosecution investigation powers agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo was selected as a witness in the trial of former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's illegal travel ban case but did not appear in court.
Former Prosecutor General Kim did not attend the trial of former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Lee Kwang-chul and others held on the 14th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon), submitting a written excuse instead.
In the written excuse submitted to the court the day before, former Prosecutor General Kim stated, "I will not attend due to personal reasons," and reportedly requested, "Since there is an ongoing investigation, I would appreciate it if the witness request could be canceled if possible."
He is known to have received related reports on behalf of former Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki, who was unreachable, during the night of March 22-23, 2019, when former Vice Minister Kim attempted to leave Incheon International Airport. In a written investigation by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office last year regarding this matter, former Prosecutor General Kim reportedly testified that "even if the minister is unreachable, the vice minister is not in a position to act on behalf of the minister under the Government Organization Act, and the travel ban authority lies solely with the head of the Immigration Office according to regulations, so the approval of the minister or vice minister is not significant."
At the trial that day, the court announced it would summon former Prosecutor General Kim again on the 18th of next month. Additionally, former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk was selected as a witness for the defense. Since former Minister Cho was the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House at the time, he is considered a key witness who would be well aware of the circumstances surrounding the travel ban.
The prosecution believes that during the travel ban process on March 22, 2019, Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who was in charge of the practical work, told former Secretary Lee that approval from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office was necessary, and this request was conveyed through former Minister Cho to Yoon Dae-jin, then Director of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor's Office, and Bong Wook, then Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
