Choi Jaeyoung "Prosecution Should Respect Susimi Committee Results... Please Judge from the Public's Perspective"

Pastor Choi Jae-young, who gave luxury bags to First Lady Kim Geon-hee, wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, stated on the 25th, "I hope the prosecution respects the results of the Investigation Review Committee and implements them as is."

Pastor Choi Jaeyoung, who secretly filmed a video while handing a luxury bag to First Lady Kim Geonhee, is appearing at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on the 13th for questioning. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

Pastor Choi made this remark during a meeting with reporters at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul, responding to questions about the committee's recommendation to indict him on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

He said, "Isn't the public's anger toward Kim Geon-hee boiling over right now?" and added, "The public does not accept things like the general election interference case, the stock manipulation trial results, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission's dismissal of the Dior bag case without charges, and the prosecution's decision not to indict."

Pastor Choi stated, "Although it was done as part of undercover (investigative reporting), we clearly proved the job-relatedness and solicitation, so I think this is why such a result has come out."

He urged, "I ask the prosecution to judge solely from the public's perspective, no more and no less," and criticized, "The public all knows about Mrs. Kim's corruption, so I cannot understand how a national investigative agency can make a decision that is even less aligned with the public's viewpoint."

Meanwhile, the reason Pastor Choi visited Yeongdeungpo Police Station that day was to undergo an investigation as a suspect in a case where he was reported by the People Power Party for violating the Act on the Testimony and Inspection at the National Assembly (perjury).

Pastor Choi appeared as a witness at the second hearing of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee on July 26 regarding the petition to request the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol, claiming, "Mrs. Kim coordinated with former Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon (current leader of the People Power Party) and high-ranking officials." The People Power Party labeled this statement as a "baseless lie" and filed a complaint against Pastor Choi with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

The Investigation Review Committee held a special meeting at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office the day before and, after over eight hours of discussion, recommended indicting eight people and not indicting seven, advising that Pastor Choi be prosecuted for violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.