On the 12th, Jin-wook Kim, head of the high-ranking public officials criminal investigation office. yunhap news
Kim Jin-wook, the head of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Department (KPA), decided on the 12th to return the case of’Illegal Departure of Kim Hak’ by Seoul Central District Prosecutor General Lee Seong-yoon and Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won to the prosecution. It was a decision after 9 days of Janggo after receiving the case from Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office on the 3rd. Deputy Director Kim explained the reason, “It was important to consider that it should not cause unnecessary controversy over fairness or cause an investigation gap.”
Airborne Department, Prosecutors’ Office, and the Police Department’s Three Proposals
‘Kim Jin-wook style’ that I stocked for 9 days
Airborne Minister Kim Jin-wook said on a Facebook account of the Ministry of Public Affairs that morning, “I will transfer this case back to the prosecution investigation team and continue the investigation.” The biggest reason for the prosecution’s decision to relocate is that the air defense agency has not yet established its own investigation team.
The biggest concern was that an investigation gap was inevitable and could lead to a controversy over fairness in order to proceed with the investigation at the same time in a situation where it takes 3 to 4 weeks to organize the prosecutors and investigators of the airlift.
“A direct investigation by the prosecutor’s criminal agency is best… ”
Deputy Director Kim explained, “I tried to choose a direct investigation from among the three options: direct investigation by the airborne agency, re-transfer to the prosecutor’s office, and repatriation to the National Police Agency’s national investigation headquarters.” This is because criminal investigations of high-ranking public officials, such as prosecutors, are the purpose of establishing the airlift.
In particular, Article 25, Paragraph 2 of the Airlifting Act stipulates that’when a prosecutor’s crime is suspected (other than the airborne prosecutor’s office), the head of an investigative agency must transfer the case to the investigating agency’. It is also because of this provision that Suwon District Prosecutors transferred prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon and Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who were involved in Kim Hak’s illegal withdrawal case, to the airlift.
Chief Kim said, “It is best for the air defense agency to conduct an investigation directly to block the possibility of the prosecution’s’covering my family’,” he said. Explained.
“If an investigation in a month later, controversy over crushing… I will avoid”
Of course, there was a way to wait until the recruitment of the investigative manpower was finished before starting the investigation. However, Director Kim drew a line saying, “If so, it could cause unnecessary controversy over fairness.” It means that it will fundamentally avoid the controversy that the case is being crushed in order to look after Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon. Director Kim stressed, “Investigation should be fair and at the same time fair.”
Deputy Chief Kim also reviewed plans for investigating by dispatching investigative personnel from other investigative agencies, such as the prosecution, but in particular, he determined that dispatching and investigating prosecutors did not fit the purpose of the Airlift Act. In the end, Kim said that he had no choice but to transfer the case to another investigative agency.
Prosecutor Seongyoon Lee. yunhap news
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Commissioner Kim also considered a transfer to the police’s national investigation headquarters, but did not choose. In the case of an investigation by the police, the central district prosecutor may take charge of the review during the process of requesting a warrant in the case of a forced investigation of the prosecutor’s office, etc., because there is a risk of involvement of prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon, the central district prosecutor’s office.
In addition, Director Kim explained, “Because this case took place inside the prosecution, we considered the difficulty of investigating the police.” “There are prosecutors who are alleged to have requested an illegal withdrawal, prosecutors who have exerted external pressure to investigate this prosecutor, and prosecutors who complained that they have been subjected to external pressure,” he said.
“Considering public opinion doubts on the police investigation ability related to the LH incident”
It is also said that public opinion that raised questions about the police investigation powers in relation to the alleged land dumping incident using internal information from employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) that has recently emerged has also served as a variable.
There is also an analysis that the unique’Kim Jin-wook style’, which considers neutrality, independence, fairness, and external evaluation of this decision as the first chief of public affairs, has been revealed as it is. Representative Kim himself said, “Until the previous day (11th), the Ministry of Public Transport put the weight in the investigation, but eventually turned it over at the last minute.” A lawyer close to Director Kim said, “It seems that the character of Director Kim, who is very cautious when making any decisions, has emerged again.”
The situation in which he was forced to be criticized in any case, whether investigating himself or sending it by the prosecution or police noodle copy, also deepened Kim’s concerns. Some people in the legal profession pointed out that “for crimes of high-ranking public officials, the airborne agency has exclusive jurisdiction” and that “you should not re-transfer the case where you have been relocated.” If this interpretation is correct, even if the prosecution prosecuts the case, the prosecution could be dismissed due to a defect in legal proceedings. Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon, the suspect, once made the same argument.
Kim Jin-wook “May be prosecuted by the Airborne Department after the prosecution’s investigation”
Seung Jae-hyun, a research fellow at the Korea Criminal Policy Research Institute, said, “When Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office attempted to transfer the case to the airlift, Deputy Commissioner Kim said,’Because the current airlift is an incomplete airlift without investigative personnel, it is not an airlift as a complete body that can be transferred to a case under the Airborne Justice Act. “If I had rejected him, I could not fall into a dilemma,” he analyzed.
Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. Central photo
Commissioner Kim left the room open, saying, “We can bring back the case that went to Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office in the future.” According to Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the Airlifting Act, if the Minister of Airlifting requests for transfer of a case in consideration of controversy over fairness, the investigating agency must respond. In this case, there is a possibility that the “ping pong” controversy spreads as the case has come and gone three times between the air defense and the prosecution. Chief Kim also said, “After the prosecution has investigated, the prosecution may be carried out by the airlift.”
Reporter Minjoong Kim [email protected]
