Investigative Team in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case pushes back against move to discipline prosecutor Park Sang-yong
Controversy over disciplinary action against prosecutor Park Sang-yong raises questions about the legitimacy of the investigation into the North Korea remittance case We examine the key issues in the review before the Supreme Prosecutors' Office inspection committee and suspicions of political interference
The investigative leadership in the old Ssangbangwool illegal remittancetoNorthKorea case, ahead of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Committee's review of disciplinary action against Prosecutor Park Sangyong, asked that unfair punishment be prevented.
On the 7th, Hong Seungwook, former head of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, and attorneys Kim Youngil and Kim Youngnam, who were then part of the leadership at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, issued a statement claiming that this latest attempt at discipline could undermine the legitimacy of the investigation and may be the result of political outside pressure. They stressed that the case had been verified through prolonged trials and a Supreme Court ruling, and that the allegations raised had not been accepted during the trial process.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Committee is scheduled to hold a meeting on the 11th to deliberate whether to request disciplinary action against Prosecutor Park from the Ministry of Justice. Earlier, the Human Rights Violation Inspection TF at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office reportedly determined that allegations that Prosecutor Park had coaxed former Gyeonggi Province Peace Vice Governor Lee Hwayoung during his investigation with things like a 'salmon drinking party' were true, and reported this to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Prosecutor Park denies the related allegations.