Accused of Breach of Duty, Loss of National Treasury, and Abuse of Authority
People Power Party: "Baseless Offensive"
The Democratic Party of Korea has filed a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) accusing President Yoon Seok-yeol and former People Power Party Emergency Response Committee Chairman Han Dong-hoon of misusing prosecution special activity funds during their respective tenures as Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice.
Park Chan-dae (right), co-chairman of the Democratic Party's Committee for Countermeasures Against Prosecutorial Dictatorship Political Oppression (from the right), and Kim Seung-won, chairman of the Legal Committee, among others, are entering the Corruption Investigation Office within the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 17th to file a complaint against President Yoon Seok-yeol and former Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon regarding the prosecution's special activity funds. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
On the afternoon of the 17th, Park Chan-dae, co-chairman of the Democratic Party's Committee Against Prosecutorial Dictatorship and Political Oppression, along with Vice Chairman Kim Ji-ho, Party Legal Affairs Chairman Kim Seung-won, and Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik, announced that they had filed a complaint with the CIO against President Yoon and former Chairman Han on charges of breach of duty, loss of state funds, and abuse of authority. At a press conference, the committee stated, "President Yoon, during his tenure as Prosecutor General, distributed special activity funds whenever he faced personal crises to rally prosecutors' support and turn the tide," adding, "Through this, he sought to evade his legal and political crises."
The committee claimed that President Yoon amassed approximately 7.8 billion KRW in special activity funds allocated to the Prosecutor General during his 20-month tenure. This amount accounts for about 59% of the total special activity funds used by the entire prosecution organization during that period. Notably, the committee pointed out that on December 3, 2020, the day before the first disciplinary committee for Yoon was held, 112.68 million KRW in special activity funds were distributed in cash to prosecution offices nationwide, and on December 14, the day before the second disciplinary committee, 247 million KRW was also distributed. On February 8, 2021, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office ruled no charges regarding the 'judge surveillance allegations' against President Yoon, and on the same day, Yoon reportedly distributed 346 million KRW in special activity funds.
Former Chairman Han was reported for tolerating the prosecution's submission of illegible receipts in response to the Supreme Court's ruling to disclose the use and supporting documents of special activity funds, specific task expenses, and business promotion expenses from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office from January 2017 to September 2019. The committee stated, "A significant portion of the records was illegally destroyed, and more than half of the disclosed documents had receipts for specific task expenses and business promotion expenses so blurred as to be unrecognizable," adding, "Han's testimony before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee that 'the ink faded because the documents are old' constitutes involvement and complicity in concealing criminal acts."
On the other hand, the People Power Party rebutted the Democratic Party's complaint as a "baseless attack." Jeong Hee-yong, the party's chief spokesperson, said in a statement, "They continue to launch unfounded attacks on prosecution special activity funds executed according to government guidelines, attempting to 'weaken the prosecution,'" adding, "Moreover, the special activity funds in question were spent during the period when the Democratic Party was in power." He emphasized, "While claiming to prioritize the people’s livelihood and citizens, the Democratic Party’s immediate focus on prosecution special activity funds right after the election reveals their real concern is covering up their judicial risks."
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