In-Person Interrogation by Special Prosecutor's Team Effectively Canceled with Just One Week Remaining
Former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Lee Changsoo has announced that he will not appear for questioning by Special Prosecutor Min Jungki's team regarding the alleged cover-up of the investigation into First Lady Kim Keonhee, despite having been summoned.
Lee Changsoo, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, standing before the press last March. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
According to legal sources on December 21, Lee's legal team informed the special prosecutor that he would not be able to attend the suspect interrogation scheduled for December 22. It is reported that scheduling conflicts for his attorney made attendance difficult. Prosecutor A, who was summoned alongside Lee, is also said to have submitted a statement of non-attendance.
Given that the special prosecutor's investigation period ends on December 28, leaving just over a week, it is effectively interpreted that an in-person interrogation of Lee will not take place.
Lee is under suspicion of abuse of authority for allegedly misusing his position during the prosecution's decision last October to drop charges against First Lady Kim regarding the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation and Dior bag bribery allegations.
On December 18, the special prosecutor's team conducted a sweeping search and seizure of eight individuals, including Lee, former Justice Minister Park Sungjae, former Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Juhyun, and former Prosecutor General Shim Woojung, all of whom were either involved in or oversaw the investigation at the time, in order to examine suspicions that the prosecution conducted a lenient investigation. On December 2, the team also searched the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. At the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, computers used by prosecutors in charge of the First Lady's case were forensically examined, and it was reported that some computers appeared to have been intentionally wiped, as they were found to be 'excessively' clean.
The special prosecutor's team plans to analyze the seized materials to investigate the so-called 'self-directed investigation cover-up' allegations involving the First Lady. They aim to verify suspicions that, in May last year, Kim instructed then-Justice Minister Park to halt the prosecution's investigation into herself. The suspicions intensified after it was revealed that Kim sent a message to Park inquiring about the status of her case, followed by a major reshuffling of the team investigating her at the Ministry of Justice.
While the special prosecutor's team intends to investigate these allegations as thoroughly as possible, it is realistically difficult to conclude the case within the remaining investigation period. As a result, the focus is expected to shift toward laying the groundwork so that the National Investigation Headquarters of the police, which will take over the case, can continue the investigation.
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