Special Prosecutor Chae Sang-byeong Responds to Trump's 'Church Suppression' Criticism: 'No Violation of Legal Procedures'

[Financial News] The special prosecutor team of Chae Sang-byeong (Lee Myung-hyun Special Prosecutor) stated that they did not violate legal procedures in relation to the 'church search and seizure' controversy mentioned at the Korea-U.S. summit.
Jung Min-young, assistant special prosecutor of Chae Sang-byeong, explained at a regular briefing on the 26th, in response to a question about U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks on the church search and seizure, "The search and seizure were conducted with a warrant from the court for matters that needed confirmation related to the case under investigation," and "The necessity for search and seizure was explained, and the court issued a warrant recognizing it." He emphasized, "Even during the execution process, the procedures prescribed by law were not violated."
Previously, the special prosecutor team of Chae Sang-byeong conducted searches and seizures on Yoido Full Gospel Church and Far East Broadcasting in relation to the 'Protestant lobbying allegations'.
President Trump expressed his view that the search and seizure of churches and U.S. military bases by the Korean special prosecutor were inappropriate at the Korea-U.S. summit held on the 25th (local time). In response, President Lee Jae-myung explained that the investigation target was the Korean Air Force facility within Osan Air Base, to which President Trump replied, "There was a misunderstanding."
The special prosecutor team plans to extend the first investigation period, which expires on the 30th, by 30 days and will report the reasons for the extension in writing to the President and the National Assembly on that day. Additionally, they requested to extend the investigation period to a maximum of 150 days, like the other two special prosecutors, and to provide additional support of about 10 dispatched officials. However, the special prosecutor team has not officially submitted a document to the National Assembly and stated that they will strive to complete the investigation within the period set by current law.
Jung, the assistant special prosecutor, said, "Considering that there are still many subjects to investigate and that a lot of time is being spent on analyzing seized materials, some increase in investigation personnel is necessary," and "In the case of our special prosecutor, among the three special prosecutors, only ours has a maximum investigation period that is 30 days shorter. We hope to be able to investigate for about 150 days, like the other special prosecutors, if possible."
The special prosecutor team is investigating officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice in relation to the appointment suspicion of Lee Jong-seop, former Minister of National Defense, as Ambassador to Australia. They plan to continue the investigation based on the content related to the case confirmed from the analysis of seized materials and the testimony of working-level officials by summoning Cho Gu-rae, former Director of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Lee Jae-yu, former Director of the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters at the Ministry of Justice, who were previously investigated as suspects. A person who participated as a member of the Exit Ban Review Committee at that time is also being summoned as a reference for investigation.
Meanwhile, regarding the report that they are considering punishment for Huh Tae-geun, former Director of Policy at the Ministry of National Defense, in relation to the false document of the Ministry of National Defense about the 'anger status' of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, they stated, "It is under review."


scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter