‘Investigation of Emperor Seong-yoon Lee’ Kim Jin-wook was accused of prosecution by public interest reporter

The legal community’s gaze toward the high-ranking officials criminal investigation office (airborne) is not good. This is because Kim Jin-wook’s actions, two months in office on the 22nd, are causing controversy. It was revealed that Kim Hak’s former Vice Minister of Justice, the main suspect in the illegal departure ban case, was even accused by a public interest reporter to the prosecution for controversy over the’emperor investigation’ that did not leave a record of Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Lee Seong-yoon.

① 1 hour disappeared without recordOn the 16th, Deputy Commissioner Kim revealed that he interviewed and investigated Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Lee Seong-yoon, the suspected suspect in the case of Kim Hak’s illegal withdrawal and external pressure on the 7th, at the National Assembly Legislative Law Committee. While re-transferring the case to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jeong-seop, 3rd Criminal Section Chief), a copy of the investigation report (confirmation of the investigation process) recorded only the interviewee, and the date and time of the interview, without any investigation details regarding the District Prosecutor’s Office. did.

Usually, it is said that there was no case record review report stating the reason at the time of transfer of the case. For this reason, the contents of the first investigation of the crimes of high-ranking officials directly conducted by the Minister of Public Affairs Kim Jin-wook are still veiled. Only the response from the National Assembly of Minister Kim, saying, “Lee Prosecutor General Lee insisted that this case should not be transferred to the prosecution because the case was under the exclusive jurisdiction of the airlift,” was disclosed.

In this regard, the public interest reporter who first reported allegations of illegal withdrawal and external pressure on the 19th included Deputy Commissioner Kim, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Department Yeo Woon-guk, Secretary A (investigator) who claimed to have attended the investigation of Prosecutor Lee, and Prosecutor Lee and his attorney who were the subjects of the investigation. Reported it as a corrupt act. The public interest reporter filed a complaint with the prosecution on charges of writing false official documents and events, saying, “In the investigation report, which is an official document, the interview location and participants were falsely recorded” against Deputy Director Kim, Deputy Minister Yeo, and Officer A.

The public interest reporter said, “Before the direct interview with the district prosecutor, the public interest reporter and other investigative co-operators should have checked the facts, investigated, and interviewed, but there was no contact with the public interest reporter. What was left at all was a serious abuse of authority that raises strong questions about the neutrality and fairness of the investigation of the airlift.”

In response to a related suspicion, an official from the Ministry of Public Transport refuted, “It is true that Director Kim met this district prosecutor on the 3rd floor of the Ministry of Public Transport, and the investigator was present from the beginning to the last during the interview.” , You have to find out the facts through call details, etc.”

② Interpretation of’The Old Rooftop’= Deputy Director Kim re-transferred the case to the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office on the 12th and demanded, “This is the case subject to prosecution by the Airborne Office, so send the case back to the Airborne Office after completion of the investigation.” Investigation team leader Lee Jeong-seop publicly refuted on the 15th that it was “a weird logic that we haven’t even heard of,” and the controversy arose in the National Assembly on the 16th. ) It is divided into the retainer’s spouse, and whether it is legal is a matter that will be covered by the court or the Constitutional Court.”

The prosecution responded, “It may be a possible interpretation when working as a constitutional researcher, but it is difficult to believe that it is the judgment of the head of an institution investigating serious crimes of high-ranking public officials” (current chief prosecutor). Investigation agencies are in charge of law enforcement, not legal interpretation, and the purpose of each agency is that the law also grants the authority. Deputy Chief Kim’s assertion that “it is appropriate because the prosecution has a problem surrounding my family” contradicts the point that Chief Prosecutor Seong-yoon Lee does not want to investigate or prosecute the prosecution. However, one legal official said, “It is an unavoidable trial and error that occurs because the airlift itself is an unprecedented system.”

③ Citation of the wrong old rules of investigationOn the 16th, Deputy Commissioner Kim heard Article 26 of the Rules of Investigation, asserting the legality of the meeting with the District Prosecutor’s Office. “The progress of the process, such as interviews, is recorded, but the record may not be prepared.” However, it is pointed out that in the legal world, the purpose is misunderstood. In principle, the relevant provisions should keep the investigation process such as the investigation of the suspect and its contents as a record.

However, Commissioner Kim did not leave a record after the investigation by the District Prosecutor’s Office, and did not disclose the reason for the resignation of the case. Attorney Wan-gyu Lee explained, “The investigation rules mean that the investigative rules should strengthen the transparency of the process for the fairness of the investigation, because the investigative agency may have threatened or made some promise with the suspect.” Kim Dae-geun, head of the Corruption and Economic Crimes Research Department at the Korea Criminal Policy Research Institute, said, “It is not illegal that the investigation record has not been left, but it is not appropriate from the perspective of guaranteeing the right to defend the suspect.”

The press release of the Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office on the 4th of last month cited by Chief Kim also said that the prosecutor will personally interview and investigate the suspect before disposing of the case sent to the prosecution after the police investigation. It is the purpose. It is far from the case of the District Prosecutor’s Office, where the investigation has not yet been concluded.

An official at the prosecution said, “It seems that it is not normal for the investigative team receiving the case to see the media interview, not the official record, and recognize the reason for the non-documentation.”

Reporters Ha Jun-ho and Jung Yu-jin [email protected]