Special Prosecutor, 'Unaware of Lee Jong-ho's Involvement' Former Public Prosecutor's Office Chief Prosecutor's Office Raided... Summons Investigation Also Planned

[Financial News] Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Team (Lee Myung-hyun Special Prosecutor) is conducting a search and seizure of the High-ranking Officials Crime Investigation Office (Public Prosecutor's Office) and is looking into allegations of external pressure related to the Public Prosecutor's Office investigation.
Jeong Min-young, Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor, stated in a regular briefing on the 1st, "Since its launch, the special prosecutor has been conducting an investigation after receiving a perjury accusation case against former Public Prosecutor Song Chang-jin from the Public Prosecutor's Office," and "It was deemed necessary to secure the mobile phones of key figures such as the suspect Song Chang-jin and internal materials of the Public Prosecutor's Office, and last week (August 29), a search and seizure was conducted on the office of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Deputy Chief's Office, and the offices of 3 incumbent chief prosecutors. Further investigations on related parties will continue after analyzing the seized materials," he revealed.
The Public Prosecutor's Office received a complaint regarding allegations of abuse of authority related to the Chae Sang-byeong death case at the end of August 2023. In June of the following year, when it was revealed that Lee Jong-ho, a former representative of Black Pearl Invest and known as a close aide to First Lady Kim Geon-hee, participated in the 'Stylish Marine' group chat, suspicions arose that the former representative might be a channel for lobbying for the rescue of former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Im Seong-geun. At that time, it was revealed that Song, the acting deputy chief of the Public Prosecutor's Office, had previously defended the former representative in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case, raising questions about the fairness of the Public Prosecutor's Office investigation.
Former Chief Prosecutor Song testified at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on July 26 of last year, stating, "I did not know that the former representative was involved in the Chae Sang-byeong case before July 10." In response, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee accused former Prosecutor Song of perjury, and the case was transferred to the special prosecutor for investigation.
The special prosecutor conducted a search and seizure of the offices of 4 former and current chief prosecutors, the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the chief prosecutor's office, and explained that it was to confirm whether there was a motive for former Chief Prosecutor Song to claim "not knowing the former representative before July 10." Reporting on key figures related to important cases is essential according to internal regulations, making the possibility of recognition at that time a key issue.
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor team summoned Choi Jin-kyu, the former commander of the Marine Corps 7th Battalion, who commanded the search operation in which Chae Marine died, for the third time in the morning. Colonel Choi responded to the press's question, "Do you have anything to say to the bereaved family?" by saying, "I would like to extend my deepest condolences on the death of Chae Sang-byeong. I will cooperate sincerely with the investigation."
The special prosecutor plans to summon Park Kwang-woo, the former acting director of the National Human Rights Commission's Military Human Rights Investigation Bureau, as a reference in the afternoon. He is expected to testify about whether there was external pressure during the process of the Human Rights Commission dismissing the complaint against Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who was the head of the Marine Corps investigation team at the time.
 
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter