Re-investigation of Choo Mi-ae’s son? … Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office “Under Appeal”

The controversy over the re-investigation of the alleged military vacation of the son of Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae ended with a kind of fact about the meaning of ‘under investigation’. On the 1st, the Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office said, “We are in a situation where we are hearing the appeal, but we are not in a situation where a new investigation decision has been made.” In addition, a problem was found in the content of the report that generated the ‘investigation controversy’. This is because it was reported that the Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office, which never responded, was the party to respond.

When I reviewed the original text of the response of the Ministry of Justice … “It is difficult to respond at the expected time to decide whether to start a new investigation.”

▲ The article “Autumn Son Holiday Suspicion, Seoul Senior Prosecutors Investigate Again” published on page A8 of Chosun Ilbo on January 1, 2021.
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Day 1 is'[단독] Suspicion of Chu Mi-ae’s son on military leave, the Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office will re-investigate the origin. Reported in this article, “The Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office is re-investigating the suspicion of Choo’s son’s military discharge from the Criminal Division (Director Park Chul-woong) in a written response sent to Congressman Kim’s National Power of People’s Power Do-eup “.

But <오마이뉴스>As a result of checking through an official at the Kimdo-eup National Energy Office on day 1, <조선일보> The content of the report differs from the actual content on two points.

First, it is the source of the written response. It stipulated that the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office submitted a written response to the Assembly Office of Kim Do-eup. However, as a result of consulting with Kim Do-eup’s office, the “data administrator” in the original written response is the Criminal Planning Division of the Ministry of Justice. In other words, it was not the Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office, but the Ministry of Justice submitted a written response to Kim Do-eup’s office.

The Office of Congressman Do-eup Kim told the Ministry of Justice, ‘The Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office and the name of the prosecutor in charge of the case of non-refoulement of the son of Minister Chu Mi-ae, who appealed to the power of the people on 27 October, ‘whether the investigation data received from the Seoul East District Prosecutors’ I have asked for the expected time (within the year or next year) to decide whether or not the top prosecutor will start the new investigation.

The second is the difference of interpretation about the existence and meaning of the sentence that “is re-investigating”. The response provided by the Ministry of Justice to the Office of the Assemblyman of Kim Do-eup <조선일보> Unlike the content of the article, there was no sentence that said “I am doing new research”. The original text of the reply states that “the case requested by the commissioner (the case of Minister Chu’s son) is currently being investigated by the Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office.”

In addition, the Ministry of Justice responded in writing: “In addition, the name of the prosecutor in charge (related to the case of the son of Minister Chu), if the data of the investigation have been reviewed and the expected time of the decision to initiate a New investigation may affect ongoing investigation. “It’s difficult.” They did not respond when it was decided whether to start a new investigation.

Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office “I have not consulted with the Kim Do-eup Assemblyman Office … There is no wrong answer from the Ministry of Justice”

▲ On the morning of the 29th, Justice Minister Chu Miae announces the ‘Special New Year’s Amnesty 2021’ at the Seoul Government Complex. The Ministry of Justice announced that on the 31st of next year a total of 3,024 people will be held, including small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses, criminals, prisoners of special consideration (negative) and instructors in social conflict.
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The explanation that the Justice Ministry is “ in the middle of an investigation ” appears to mean an appeal hearing-level investigation by the prosecution, rather than deciding to initiate a full new investigation of the case.

Seoul Superior Prosecutor’s Office on Day 1 <오마이뉴스>In a phone call with the Ministry of Justice, it was confirmed that it was correct for the Ministry of Justice to respond “under investigation” about the case of son Choo in written materials in Kim Do-eup’s office. This is because this is not a “full re-investigation”, but rather the general process of reviewing the records and confirming the content when an appeal is heard is included in the “investigation.”

Then, the official explained, “(Chu’s son’s case) is in a situation where the appeal is being heard. A re-investigation decision has not yet been made.”

He said: “In general, if a case comes to the higher prosecutor’s office after it has not been prosecuted, the case is assigned and then the file is reviewed and a decision is made to dismiss the appeal, or the original case is corrected (fixed ) directly to the court’s office for a new investigation. There are cases, “he added.” In general (the appeal hearing process) is divided into these three cases, and now it is a step to review what decision to make. “

In addition, the official said: “We have not released any data to Kim Do-eup’s congressional office in this regard, nor have we objectively confirmed it.” He noted that the source of the response is not the Ministry of Justice, but that there is “room for misinformation” for the party that reported itself as the Seoul Senior Prosecutor’s Office.