22nd General Election Ends with Overwhelming Victory for Opposition... Numerous Prosecution Investigations Targeting Opposition Parties
Cho Kuk Threatens 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law'... Prosecution Says "Investigation Will Proceed if Necessary to Uncover Truth"
As the 22nd general election ended with a landslide victory for the pan-opposition coalition, attention is focused on whether the prosecution will accelerate investigations targeting opposition parties, such as the Democratic Party’s party convention money envelope bribery allegations.
According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 12th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating allegations of money envelope bribery at the Democratic Party’s party convention, the Moon Jae-in administration’s alleged interference in the Ulsan mayoral election, and defamation allegations against President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon) has been investigating other suspected lawmakers involved in the money envelope bribery case since February this year, after sending Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Jong-sik and former lawmaker Lim Jong-sung to trial on charges of accepting money envelopes at the party convention. However, the investigation has effectively been halted since February as the lawmakers implicated in the bribery allegations have refused to comply with the prosecution’s summons, citing the general election.
Many of the lawmakers known to have received money envelopes were elected in this general election and may not cooperate with the prosecution’s investigation. Nevertheless, the prosecution is expected to speed up the investigation, reasoning that they cannot delay further as investigations were restrained during the primary and election campaign periods.
A representative from the Central District Prosecutors’ Office said, "We have been investigating since before the general election and will do our best to prevent any delays in the future. We will coordinate schedules with the lawmakers who need to be questioned according to the investigation team’s timetable."
Investigation into Ulsan Mayoral Election Interference vs. Entry of the Party for National Innovation into the National Assembly
The Public Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Jung Won-doo) is investigating the 2018 Ulsan mayoral election interference case. The core allegation is that Cho Guk, leader of the Party for National Innovation and then Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, and Lim Jong-seok, Chief of Staff to the President, intervened in candidate nominations and ordered investigations to ensure the election of former Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho.
Initially, the prosecution believed there was evidence that Lim and Cho persuaded internal party rivals to withdraw their candidacies to secure Song’s election, but due to insufficient evidence, they were not indicted in April 2021. However, last November, the court’s first-instance ruling on the Ulsan mayoral election interference case effectively acknowledged that the Blue House had systematically intervened to ensure Song’s election. The court sentenced all defendants from the Civil Affairs Office and explicitly mentioned Lim and Cho’s involvement in the judgment. Following a re-investigation order from the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, the investigation resumed. Currently, the prosecution has been conducting a search and seizure at the Presidential Archives since the 7th of last month.
Since the Party for National Innovation secured 12 seats in this general election and entered the National Assembly with a major pledge of strong prosecution reform, it is expected to strongly oppose the prosecution’s investigation.
Increased Pressure on Investigation of ‘Presidential Election Interference Public Opinion Manipulation Case’
Attention is also focused on the investigation into defamation allegations against President Yoon Suk-yeol by the special investigation team for the ‘Presidential Election Interference Public Opinion Manipulation Case’ (led by Kang Baek-shin, head of Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1). Since the investigation began in September last year, the prosecution has yet to indict a single case, showing little tangible progress.
The prosecution is concentrating its efforts on whether the Democratic Party was involved in manipulating public opinion to interfere in the presidential election. However, with the Democratic Party securing a majority of seats in this general election, the prosecution’s burden has increased.
A representative from the Central District Prosecutors’ Office said, "We are continuing the necessary investigations into the public opinion manipulation case. The prosecution is investigating based on complaints, accusations, and public suspicions, but we hope there is no misunderstanding that we are targeting any specific individual."
Will the Investigation into Allegations Related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee Accelerate?
Meanwhile, the prosecution is under pressure to speed up investigations into allegations involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee’s involvement in Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation and the receipt of luxury bags.
The investigation into Kim’s alleged involvement in Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation began in April 2020 during the Moon Jae-in administration, when Choi Kang-wook, Hwang Hee-seok, and Cho Dae-jin, then proportional representation candidates of the Open Democratic Party, filed a complaint accusing Kim of violating the Capital Markets Act. The core allegation is that former Deutsche Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo manipulated the stock price from 2009 to 2012 with a group of operators, and Kim was involved in the stock price manipulation.
Controversy reignited when the court recognized in February last year’s first trial that three accounts under Kim’s name were used for market manipulation while sentencing former Chairman Kwon to two years in prison with a three-year probation and a fine of 300 million won. Since summoning Kwon and others for questioning around April last year, the prosecution has shown little further movement.
The Central District Prosecutors’ Office is also handling a complaint related to allegations that Kim received luxury bags from Pastor Choi Jae-young. Legal circles generally believe that unless the spouse, who is a public official, conspired with Kim, bribery charges cannot be established. Moreover, although the current Anti-Graft Act prohibits public officials’ spouses from receiving money or valuables related to the official’s duties, it does not have separate sanctions for spouses, making it difficult to prosecute for violating the Anti-Graft Act.
However, the opposition has threatened to push for a special investigation into Kim if the prosecution does not speed up summons and investigations by the National Assembly’s opening on the 30th of next month. Cho, the party leader, held a press conference in front of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office the day before, calling it "the people’s order and the last warning to the prosecution," urging, "Summon and investigate First Lady Kim immediately."
A representative from the Central District Prosecutors’ Office said, "I believe investigations should be conducted without restrictions on targets or methods if necessary to ascertain the truth. We are conducting the necessary investigations, and the required investigations will proceed at the appropriate time to clarify the facts of the matter."
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