Special Prosecutor Chae Sang-byeong, Searches Ministry of Justice Gwacheon Office Related to 'Lee Jong-seop Escape'

[Financial News] Special Prosecutor Team Chae Sang-byeong (Special Prosecutor Lee Myung-hyun) is searching the Ministry of Justice Gwacheon Office on the 5th in connection with suspicions raised during the appointment process of former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop as Ambassador to Australia.
The special prosecutor team announced that they are searching the offices of the Ministry of Justice's former Personnel Information Management Division, the Minister's Office, and the Vice Minister's Office from the morning of that day on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.
The special prosecutor is continuing to investigate various suspicions that arose during the appointment process of the former minister as Ambassador to Australia. The former minister was appointed as Ambassador to Australia while being investigated by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) as a suspect in the abuse of authority related to the death of Private First Class Chae last year, leading to 'escape suspicions'.
At that time, the CIO imposed a travel ban on the former minister, but in March of last year, during the process of his appointment as ambassador and departure, an objection was accepted by the Ministry of Justice, and the travel ban was lifted.
The Ministry of Justice's Personnel Information Management Division was responsible for the first verification of high-ranking officials' personnel during the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. There are suspicions that they were involved in the process of appointing the former minister as Ambassador to Australia despite being subject to a travel ban as a target of the CIO investigation.
Previously, the special prosecutor searched the mobile phones and vehicles of former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung (then Vice Minister of Justice), former Ministry of Justice Personnel Information Management Division Director Park Haeng-yeol, and Vice Minister of Justice Lee No-gong.
Special Prosecutor Chae Sang-byeong's assistant Jeong Min-young stated in a regular briefing that "broadly speaking, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Presidential Office are believed to have played various roles in the appointment of the former minister as Ambassador to Australia," and that they are examining the Ministry of Justice's involvement in the personnel verification and travel ban process.
The special prosecutor team has investigated some of the people who were in contact with other agencies and those who were responsible for the practical work at the time, and they have identified some circumstances regarding how the lifting of the travel ban or personnel verification was carried out.  




scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter