Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Team Indicts CIO Chief Oh Dong-woon and Other Executives on Charges of Dereliction of Duty

[Financial News] On the 26th, the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Team, led by Lee Myeong-hyeon, brought charges against the leadership of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), indicting Oh Dong-woon, the Chief, and Lee Jaeseung, the Deputy Chief.
The Special Prosecutor Team indicted Chief Oh and Deputy Chief Lee without detention on charges of dereliction of duty. The investigation found that last August, after receiving a complaint against former CIO Deputy Chief Prosecutor Song Changjin for perjury, they failed to notify or refer the case to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and essentially left it unattended.
At the time, former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Song had been reported for perjury during a session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly. According to the CIO Act, if a crime is discovered involving a CIO prosecutor, the Chief is required to notify the Supreme Prosecutors' Office with the relevant materials.
The Special Prosecutor Team concluded that Chief Oh and Deputy Chief Lee knowingly failed to refer the complaint, considering it an 'unjust political attack' against the CIO leadership, and neglected their duties without taking any action.
The complaint remained effectively suspended for about 11 months after being filed, with no investigation of suspects or witnesses. There were also no measures to reassign the case to another prosecutor or to resume proceedings.
Park Seok-il, the former CIO Deputy Chief Prosecutor who was initially assigned the case, was also indicted for dereliction of duty. He reportedly failed to conduct a thorough investigation, drafting a report just two days after receiving the complaint that, based on a presumption of innocence, recommended against referring the perjury case to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to counter external pressure.
Additionally, the Special Prosecutor Team indicted former Deputy Chief Prosecutors Song Changjin and Kim Sun-kyu on charges of abuse of authority for obstructing the investigation into the Chae Sang-byeong death-in-service case. Both, acting as interim CIO Chief and Deputy Chief at the time, were found to have interfered with the investigation to prevent it from implicating former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
According to the Special Prosecutor Team, Kim Sun-kyu repeatedly instructed investigators not to summon those involved in the Chae Sang-byeong investigation interference case ahead of the April 2023 general election. After the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act passed the National Assembly in May of the same year, he directed the team the next day to 'summon them to create grounds for a veto.' The Special Prosecutor Team also revealed that in June 2023, Song Changjin blocked requests for search and seizure warrants targeting former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup.
The Special Prosecutor Team criticized, 'The defendants abused their authority to block the CIO investigation from reaching the President, thereby privatizing and politicizing the CIO’s investigative powers,' adding, 'They undermined the founding purpose of the CIO, which was established to ensure independent and rigorous handling of crimes by high-ranking officials.'
Furthermore, Song Changjin was also indicted for perjury before the National Assembly. The Special Prosecutor Team stated that, as a witness at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee in July 2024, he falsely testified regarding the involvement of former Black Pearl Invest CEO Jongho Lee in the Chae Sang-byeong investigation interference case, claiming, 'I was unaware before July 10,' and made several other false statements, such as 'All communication warrant requests were dismissed.'
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter