Police Without CCTV Evidence... Is There Any Will to Investigate the 'Cheonggong Residence Allegation'?

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] It was reported on the 14th that the police investigating the accusation case related to the involvement of fortune teller 'Cheongong' in the presidential residence relocation have not secured the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the residence, which is considered the 'smoking gun.' As the procedure to verify the substantive truth of the suspicion is progressing slowly, there are criticisms questioning whether there is any will to investigate.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to a comprehensive report by this newspaper, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which is investigating this case, has not yet secured the residence CCTV footage from March of last year, when Cheongong was identified as likely to visit the residence of the Army Chief of Staff. This means that even ten days after the complaint was filed and the investigation began, they have not examined the decisive evidence that could unravel the suspicion.

At that time, the residence CCTV footage was considered a clue to clarify the substantive truth of the suspicion. If Cheongong was involved in the presidential residence relocation, objective evidence confirming Cheongong's entry and exit from the residence is necessary, and the CCTV footage from that time meets that condition.

Already, mainly from the opposition parties, there have been claims that verifying the residence or surrounding CCTV footage could clearly determine the truth. To clarify the substantive truth of the suspicion without reasonable doubt, checking the CCTV footage has become an inevitable procedure.

However, the police have maintained the position that confirmation through investigation is not easy and have neglected this procedure. At a regular press briefing the day before, a Seoul Police official said, "Due to the storage period issue of the footage, it is currently difficult to check the CCTV." Since the suspicion was raised at the end of March last year, far exceeding the usual CCTV footage retention period, this can be interpreted as meaning that securing evidence is meaningless.

The official also could not clearly answer whether the residence CCTV footage is classified as a public record and stored separately in an archive. A Ministry of National Defense official told this newspaper in a phone call, "The residence CCTV footage is not stored separately," but the Seoul Police official said, "We do not think it has been deleted, and we believe there is a mechanism such as the CCTV retention period, so we will verify it clearly."

The police are currently focusing on questioning related persons without applying for a search warrant to secure the CCTV footage. They are summoning non-commissioned officers who worked at the residence at the time, including former Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin, for questioning one by one. It is known that they have already completed a significant portion of the investigation of some related persons. Direct questioning of the person involved, Cheongong, has not yet been conducted.

However, if the investigation continues based on testimonies from related persons without confirming the key evidence of the residence CCTV footage, voices doubting the 'will to investigate' are expected to intensify, mainly from the opposition parties. Therefore, inside and outside the police, there is speculation that regardless of the retention period, securing the CCTV footage and clarifying the existence of the footage will be an unavoidable procedure.