Special prosecutor team seizes document on trial and investigation jurisdiction under emergency martial law from Supreme Prosecutors' Office
By Choi Eui-jong, The Herald Business
The second comprehensive special prosecutor team led by Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating allegations left unresolved after three earlier special counsel probes into insurrection, Kim Keon Hee and the Marine corporal case, has booked People Power Party lawmakers Kim Ki-hwan, Kwon Young-jin and Yoon Sang-hyun on suspicion of obstructing the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials' execution of an arrest warrant against former President Yoon Suk Yeol. They join fellow PPP lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who was booked earlier on the same charge.
The special prosecutor team held a briefing Sunday afternoon at its office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, saying it had reopened the case after securing and analyzing video footage taken during Yoon's arrest. "The footage confirmed facts that had not been fully established during the insurrection special prosecutor team's investigation," the team said.
The PPP lawmakers had held a rally outside the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul in January last year to protest the CIO's execution of the arrest warrant against Yoon. The insurrection special prosecutor team led by Special Prosecutor Jo Eun-seok closed the case without charges in December last year.
The insurrection special prosecutor team's dismissal decision included a provision stating that investigative materials would be forwarded to relevant agencies in case new evidence emerged or there was a need to reopen the investigation into criminal charges.
A Seoul Central District Court panel — the 35th Criminal Division, presided over by Judge Baek Dae-hyeon — found Yoon guilty in January in a first-instance ruling on charges of obstructing the execution of the arrest warrant, sentencing him to five years in prison on charges of obstruction of official duties by force. Citing changed circumstances, the special prosecutor team relaunched its investigation on March 26.
Deputy Special Prosecutor Kwon Young-bin said the team had confirmed the situation at the time of the arrest warrant's execution by questioning more than 10 officials who participated in the operation, including CIO prosecutors. "Analysis of the footage taken during the execution confirmed the presence of Rep. Na Kyung-won and others," he said. "We have additionally booked Kim Ki-hwan, Kwon Young-jin and Yoon Sang-hyun on charges of obstruction of official duties by force for their leading roles in the incident."
The special prosecutor team said it sent summons to Reps. Kim Ki-hwan, Kwon Young-jin and Yoon Sang-hyun on June 24. It had previously summoned Na as well, but her side indicated it would submit a written response instead of appearing in person. The team said it sent Na a summons requiring her either to appear for an in-person interview or submit to a written investigation by 10 a.m. Monday.
Kwon said there appeared to have been no physical confrontation, but added that there are many precedents in which forming a human chain or blocking entry in connection with a rally or the execution of a warrant has been found to constitute obstruction of official duties. "Based on those precedents, we have determined that there are grounds for the charges," he said.
The special prosecutor team also questioned former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung on June 24 as a suspect on charges of playing a key role in insurrection, in connection with allegations that prosecutors were involved in the Dec. 3, 2024, emergency martial law declaration. The investigation into Shim appears to have gained momentum following a first-instance guilty verdict against former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae on the same charge.
The team said it obtained a document summarizing trial and investigation jurisdiction under emergency martial law during a search and seizure at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Deputy Special Prosecutor Kim Ji-mi said the team had secured a statement from a Supreme Prosecutors' Office official saying there had been discussions about what would happen to crimes that would fall under military court jurisdiction if martial law actually went into effect. "We are intensively investigating whether the Supreme Prosecutors' Office was involved in the emergency martial law declaration in connection with this document," Kim said.
The special prosecutor team is also investigating potential illegality in former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong's decision to scrap the Seoul-Yangpyeong expressway project, in connection with allegations that the route change was designed to benefit the family of Kim Keon Hee. The team has questioned officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport about the meaning of the cancellation announcement and whether proper legal procedures were followed. It plans to soon summon officials from Yoon's presidential transition committee and former Deputy Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Baek Won-guk for questioning.
The special prosecutor team said it plans to book former Gongju Branch Prosecutor Kim Min-gu on charges of violating the anti-graft law in connection with the so-called "VIP investigation" — a probe in which the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office questioned Kim Keon Hee not at a prosecutors' office but at a Presidential Security Service facility while investigating allegations of stock price manipulation involving Deutsch Motors.
Former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief Lee Chang-su and former head of the office's anti-corruption investigation unit Choi Jae-hun have also been additionally booked on charges of fabricating official documents and violating the anti-graft law in connection with the drafting of Kim Keon Hee's written responses. Deputy Special Prosecutor Kim said the team had identified indications that prosecutors and Kim's side had discussed her responses over the course of a year-long investigation.
bell@heraldcorp.com
