Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Opens Full Investigation, Booking Former JCS Chairman Kim Myung-soo and Other Officials

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[Financial News] The Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Team, headed by Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young, has booked former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Myung-soo and other officials of the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff (ROK JCS), formally launching a full-scale investigation. As the team has designated this as its "first ex officio case," it plans to summon reference witnesses in the near future to quickly establish the facts.
Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim Ji-mi announced the move during a briefing held at the team’s office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 11th.
The special counsel team has initially booked six JCS officials, including former Chairman Kim, former deputy chairman Jeong Jin-pal, and former head of the Military Support Command Kang Dong-gil. They are suspected of involvement in key duties related to insurrection, and the team has already imposed travel bans on them. Investigators believe that after the declaration of December 3 Martial Law, these officials were in the JCS command and control center observing the deployment of troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, yet still participated in forming the Martial Law Headquarters and thereby joined the alleged insurrection. "We will soon begin questioning reference witnesses," Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim stated.
In particular, former JCS Chairman Kim is also believed to be under suspicion for violating Article 93 of the Military Criminal Act (Failure to Frustrate Crimes of Subordinates). This offense is established when a commander knows that multiple subordinates are jointly committing a crime but fails to stop them or take necessary action. The special counsel appears to have concluded that, as the overall commander of the ROK Army, Navy, and Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF), Kim recognized the deployment of troops after martial law was declared but did not take active measures to prevent it.
Having embarked on a full investigation, the special counsel team has also moved to reopen cases that the first trio of special prosecutors failed to conclude. The team has received more than 20 cases from the National Office of Investigation. Among them are allegations of preferential treatment in changing the terminus of the Seoul–Yangpyeong Expressway, suspicions that the probe into Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation was stifled, and claims that First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s involvement in state contracts related to the relocation of the Office of the President of South Korea and the official residence created national security risks. The team plans to prioritize these cases and work to uncover the full truth.
So far, the special counsel team has received 112 government officials on secondment, including five prosecutors. It has also hired 17 lawyers as special investigators, and plans to complete the recruitment of the remaining special investigators by next week. "For the remaining positions, we will request additional personnel on secondment and proceed with further hiring," Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim noted.
theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter