Transferred from Prosecution Earlier This Month... Statute of Limitations Expires on the 29th
Spokesperson Kang Mijeong, Who Reported the Allegations, to Be Questioned as a Witness
The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Hugo) announced on the 18th that it plans to dispose of the case involving Prosecutor Lee Jeong-seop of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, who was transferred from the prosecution on charges of leaking official secrets, before the statute of limitations expires at the end of this month. Prosecutor Lee is accused of unauthorized access to a civilian's criminal record at the request of a relative.
At a regular briefing on the same day, a Hugo official said, "The statute of limitations expires on the 29th," adding, "It seems that the case must be handled in some way before then." The statute of limitations for the crime of leaking official secrets is five years.
Earlier, on the 6th, the prosecution indicted Prosecutor Lee without detention on charges including violations of the Resident Registration Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. He is suspected of registering his child under a false address and receiving room fees from a large corporation executive related to resort use. The case involving unauthorized access to the Criminal Justice Information System (KICS) server of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to check the criminal records of individuals unrelated to his duties, such as his mother-in-law's housekeeper, was transferred to Hugo on the same day.
According to the Hugo Act, if another investigative agency discovers allegations of crimes committed by a high-ranking prosecutor, the case must be transferred to Hugo. While violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act are not listed as high-ranking official crimes, leaking official secrets is included. A Hugo official commented on the transfer of the case close to the statute of limitations, saying, "I believe the prosecution had its own circumstances," but added, "However, considering the time needed to handle the case, it is indeed tight."
Hugo plans to summon Kang Mi-jeong, spokesperson for the Party for People's Innovation and Reform, who is both the sister-in-law of Prosecutor Lee and the whistleblower of his misconduct allegations, as a witness on the 21st. Kang's mobile phone will also be voluntarily submitted on the same day. It is known that the phone contains message records indicating that Prosecutor Lee checked and informed about the criminal records of housekeepers and golf course employees.
Meanwhile, Hugo revealed that it recently conducted a complainant investigation regarding allegations that Prosecutor Kim Young-il of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office provided conveniences such as external phone calls inside the prosecutor's office to Kim Seong-hoon, former CEO of IDS Holdings, who was indicted years ago for a multi-level marketing fraud involving about 1 trillion won. Hugo expects the statute of limitations for this case to end in June.
A Hugo official also stated regarding the investigation of military and police officials involved in the December 12 and 3 emergency martial law, "Witness investigations are ongoing, and some suspect investigations have also been conducted."
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