Disclosure of Inspection Process Related to Former Prime Minister Han on Facebook
Disciplinary Request for Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im over Official Secrets Leak at Supreme Prosecutors' Office
The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit has registered Han Dongsu, former head of the Inspection Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (age 57, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 24), as a suspect on charges of official secret leakage and has begun securing related evidence.
On the 27th, the Investigation Division 1 of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Chief Prosecutor Kim Seon-gyu) announced that during the investigation of Im Eun-jeong, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office's Major Economic Crimes Investigation Unit (age 49, class 30), on charges of official secret leakage, circumstances were detected indicating that in March 2021, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im conspired with her then superior, former Chief Han. Accordingly, former Chief Han was registered as a suspect, and a search and seizure of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department and other locations was conducted that day to secure related evidence.
Former Chief of Inspection Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Han Dong-su. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit is known to have obtained messenger contents exchanged between former Chief Han and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im after obtaining a warrant from the court.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im is under investigation for allegedly disclosing the inspection process of the case involving former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's violation of the Political Funds Act and related perjury coaching allegations on her SNS in March 2021 (official secret leakage). At that time in March 2021, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im concurrently served as the Inspection Policy Research Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and as a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, while former Chief Han was serving as the head of the Inspection Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
At that time, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im wrote on her Facebook regarding the inspection related to the alleged malicious perjury against former Prime Minister Han, stating, "There were differing opinions between me, who wanted to indict the prosecution's inmate witnesses, and the head of Inspection Division 3, who thought non-prosecution was appropriate, but the Prosecutor General designated the head of Inspection Division 3 as the chief prosecutor." The Prosecutor General at that time was President Yoon Seok-youl.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office requested disciplinary action against Prosecutor Im from the Ministry of Justice on the 23rd.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
