Attorney Park Kyungho Holds Press Conference at Memorial Altar
"We Will Submit the Original Handwritten Note to Investigators If Necessary"
The attorney representing a Yangpyeong County public official from Gyeonggi Province, who died after being questioned by the Kim Keonhee Special Prosecutor's Office (headed by Special Prosecutor Min Jungki) in connection with the 'Yangpyeong Gongheung District development preferential treatment' allegations, announced plans to file charges against the special prosecutor's team for abuse of authority and other offenses.
A memorial altar for Mr. A, a public official from Yangpyeong County who was found dead while under investigation related to the 'Yangpyeong Gongheung District preferential treatment suspicion,' has been set up on the sidewalk in front of the KT West Building in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, where the Min Joong-ki special prosecutor team office is located. Photo by Yonhap News
On October 14, attorney Park Kyungho, who represents the late official Mr. A, held a press conference at the memorial altar for Mr. A set up in front of the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul. He stated, "We have requested access to and copies of Mr. A's suspect interrogation records from the special prosecutor's team." He added, "After reviewing the records, we plan to file charges against the investigators for abuse of authority, falsification of official documents, and cruel acts, due to their unlawful investigation."
Mr. A appeared as a suspect before the special prosecutor's team on October 2 regarding the 'Yangpyeong Gongheung District development preferential treatment' allegations, and was found dead at his home in Yangpyeong-eup, Yangpyeong County, on October 10. In a handwritten note left by Mr. A, he described the psychological distress caused by the investigation and stated that he had been pressured to testify that he acted on the instructions of Assemblyman Kim Seonkyou, who was then the Yangpyeong County Governor and is now a member of the People Power Party.
It has been reported that Mr. A confided that the interrogation records prepared by the special prosecutor's team contained false statements, but that he was too distressed at the time of the questioning to ask for corrections. Attorney Park asserted, "The special prosecutor's team, in collusion with Assemblyman Kim, who was then the Yangpyeong County Governor, forced Mr. A to make statements to the effect that development charges were unfairly waived for the company owned by Mrs. Kim's family."
Attorney Park stated, "The publicly disclosed note was written by Mr. A alone, without any assistance from legal counsel," and added, "If necessary, we will submit the original note to the investigative authorities." However, regarding how the note was obtained, he drew a line, saying, "This concerns the confidentiality of legal representation, so I will not discuss it here."
In response, the special prosecutor's team stated the previous day, "We will conduct a thorough investigation equivalent to an internal audit," and added, "We will use this incident as an opportunity to review all investigative procedures and ensure the utmost protection of human rights."
The allegations of preferential treatment in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District development case center on claims that ESI&D, a family company of Mrs. Kim's mother, Choi Eunsun, received special treatment, such as being exempted from paying any development charges while developing an apartment project in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District from 2011 to 2016. Mr. A is known to have been in charge of development charge-related work at Yangpyeong County Office in 2016.
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