Investigation into Manipulation of National Statistics Including Housing Prices
Unlikely to Conclude Before General Election
The prosecution is accelerating investigations related to allegations of misconduct that occurred during the Moon Jae-in administration. However, if the investigations are not swiftly concluded ahead of the general elections in April, the prosecution is expected to face criticism that it is attempting to interfere in the elections through these investigations.
According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 10th, the prosecution is conducting investigations related to the previous government, including ▲allegations of manipulation of national statistics such as housing prices ▲allegations regarding the appointment of former lawmaker Lee Sang-jik as the chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation ▲allegations of preferential treatment in the solar power generation business.
Within and outside the legal community, there are concerns that if the prosecution continues investigations beyond next month?when candidates for the general election are confirmed after party nominations?it will face fierce attacks from opposition parties accusing it of trying to influence the election.
The investigation into the manipulation of national statistics, conducted by the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, centers on allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration’s Blue House (Presidential Secretariat) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport forced the Korea Real Estate Board to manipulate statistical figures at least 94 times from 2017 to 2021. The investigation began after the Board of Audit and Inspection requested the prosecution to investigate 22 former government officials, including former Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Yoon Sung-won, former Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency Lee Moon-gi, and four former policy chiefs of the previous administration (Jang Ha-sung, Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Sang-jo, and Lee Ho-seung). Recently, the investigation has been stalled as the court dismissed arrest warrants for former Vice Minister Yoon and former Administrator Lee.
The investigation related to former lawmaker Lee is being conducted by the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office. The core suspicion is whether Lee’s appointment as chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation was exchanged for preferential hiring of Seo, the son-in-law of former President Moon Jae-in, as an executive director at Tai Star Jet, which is reportedly owned by Lee. The investigation aims to determine whether the Blue House unduly interfered in the appointment process and whether Seo’s hiring can be considered a bribe. Seo’s hiring in July 2018 as an executive director at Tai Star Jet sparked controversy as he had no prior experience in the aviation sector.
The prosecution’s investigation into allegations of preferential treatment in the solar power generation business targets public officials who gained unfair benefits during the Moon administration’s solar power projects. The investigation began after the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a wide-ranging audit since last year on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and local governments regarding the implementation of renewable energy projects and referred the matter to the prosecution.
Currently, the prosecution’s investigation is focused on government officials and public institution employees. Most of those under investigation are accused of providing favorable legal interpretations or preferential treatment to private solar power companies.
Going forward, the prosecution is expected to verify the Board of Audit and Inspection’s findings that the Moon administration’s Blue House ordered the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to release a false forecast claiming that even if the share of renewable energy generation such as solar and wind power increased, electricity rates would only rise by 10.9% by 2030. In this process, investigations into Blue House officials who ordered data manipulation are inevitable.
The problem is that it is unlikely the investigations into the previous government will be completed before the general election. Due to the nature of statistics, the manipulation investigation may take considerable time unless clear evidence proving explicit orders to manipulate data is secured, as multiple interpretations are possible when analyzing results. It is reported that a mid-term investigation may only conclude after the Lunar New Year holidays next month. The cases involving former lawmaker Lee and the solar power allegations are also reportedly impossible to wrap up before the election.
However, Attorney A, a former deputy chief prosecutor, said, "Typically, the prosecution conducts investigations cautiously before elections to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings rather than aggressively pursuing them." He added, "Considering the approaching general election, the prosecution is inevitably under pressure, but since the investigations into the previous government were initiated not by the prosecution’s own recognition but by requests from the Board of Audit and Inspection and others, it will be difficult to link the general election and the prosecution’s investigations as a problem."
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