Yoon met with the new justice minister at a "neutral location." Apparently they met to discuss pending personnel changes in prosecution offices which are controlled by the Ministry of Justice. Ostensibly, the Prosecutor General's office is subordinate to the Justice Minister, but you'd never know it. Yoon brought charges against former Justice Minister Cho-guk's family almost immediately after Cho's appointment, allegedly with little or no prior investigation. Therefore the trials against Cho and his wife dragged on for almost a year and a half and are far from over. Cho's wife was recently sentenced to four years in prison for allegedly submitting false documents in support of her daughter's college admission years ago, using inside information illegally in a personal investment, and concealing evidence. Many observers regard certain aspects of the case against Cho's wife as completely fabricated. This while the Samsung heir, Lee Jae-yong, convicted of bribing Choi Son-sil, former President Park's aide and shaman, to the tune of a few million dollars, (to help secure control of Samsung) recently received a two and a half year sentence. The other millions Lee spent on buying Park Blue House influence, were held to be a legitmate corporate "sponsorship" upon review.
After filing disciplinary charges against Yoon, former Justice Minister Chu found herself subject to allegations of misconduct in the conservative mainstream media controlled by Yoon's close friends. She was accused of getting her son special treatment from the Army after he was injured in training which rendered him unfit for unlimited service. Nevertheless, Chu doggedly pursued reforms of the prosecutor's office and the establishement of a corruption office for high government officials independent of the prosecutor's offices. She propelled a disciplinary proceeding against Yoon which resulted in a disappointing administrative sanction of two months suspension from office, for acting with political bias in office, and conducting illegal investigations on sitting judges. An administrative court reversed the decision saying that the disciplinary board did not have a quorum because some members recused themselves for potential conflicts after the board convened. Chu then tendered her resignation.
Which brings us to the current Justice Minister Park Beom-gye. Park and Yoon met on February 5. The picture below is regarded as evidence of Yoon's insubordinate attitude and disrespect for his nominal superior the Minister of Justice.
Yoon (left) sits directly opposite Park, in a challenging disrespectful pose, with suit open, stomach hanging out and legs spread.
Accounts of the Yoon-Park dialogue suggest that Yoon desired to have Seoul Central District Prosecution Branch Chief, Lee Seong-yoon, transferred or promoted out of his current position. Lee's office is responsible for supervision of the so called "press-prosecution collusion" scandal in which Channel A News reporter, Lee Dong-jae, and prosecutor, Han Dong-hun, were involved. Han Dong-hun's Iphone was seized under a warrant, after it was reported that the Channel A News reporter had communicated with an imprisoned witness and his agent soliciting perjured testimony against Yoo Shi-min, a former minister of the No Mu-hyun administration and the director of the No Mu-hyun foundation, a progressive political institution. Yoo Shi-min is a prominent critic of the right and supporter of reforms in the administration of justice in South Korea.
So far, Lee's forensic team was unable to crack the security key on Prosecutor Han's Iphone. Allegedly, it's operating system was updated after South Korea had obtained the requisite software to decypher the digital lock. There has been pressure from the Prosecutor General's office and the conservative media to drop the case for lack of evidence, but there was a political and public backlash, after it was disclosed that a new software would be forthcoming to obtain the forensic key. Interestly enough, it is said that there are 2700 contacts of one sort or another between Prosecutor Han, Yoon Seok-yeol, and Kim Geon-hee, (Yoon's wife) recorded on Han's Iphone. It is conceivable that this may be a breakthrough that will ultimately bring down Yoon's network of corruption which extends into the judiciary, the media, and the corporate sector. Yoon's request to Justice Minister Park also called for the reinstatement of Han Dong-hun as a front line prosecutor. Yoon's request in that respect was also denied. Lee Seong-yoon is regarded as the agent of the Ministry of Justice inside the prosecutor's offices by Yoon and his followers.
After Yoon's most critical requests were disregarded by Justice Minister Park, the Taejon District Branch Prosecutors Office, known to be close with Yoon, unexpectedly (sic) announced it was commencing an investigation of Minister Park's holdings in the Myeong Kyeong law firm of which Park was a founding member in 2012. It is alleged that Park retained a proprietary interest in the firm after assuming public office in the 19th National Assembly and derived large profits from his holdings in violation of government ethics laws. Park has stated the charges are false, that he has had no income from the firm while in office and that his actions are in compliance with government ethics rules. The source cited above, reported that Park gave up his current interest in the firm January 14. The Taejon District Office is also conducting an investigation against the Moon administration, particularly the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, allegedly for fabricating economic evidence that supported the decision to close the Wolseong Nuclear Reactor No. One.
Associated with the alleged improper Wolseong Nuclear Reactor shutdown charges is the absurdly incongruous and misplaced accusation that documents were destroyed within the agency or its subordinate departments which showed that the administration intended to deliver nuclear reactor parts to North Korea. So the goal here is actually a frontal assualt on the Moon administration. One critic has pointed out that there had been international plans to build reactors in North Korea, supported by previous administrations during the so called Agreed Framework and Six Party Talks days. So these charges fit into the ridiculous conservative assertion that President Moon "is a secret North Korean agent for Kim Jong-un." This accusation was disclosed by People's Power Party leader, Kim Jong-in. As a side note, after left of center candidates for office in the Pusan run off election proposed building a sorely needed new international airport for the city of Pusan, the same Kim Jong-in, not to be outdone, made the absurd proposal of building a tunnel to Japan from Pusan. In another absurd development on the conservative side, the shape shifting Na Kyung-won, a trusted ally of Yoon Seok-yeol running for mayor of Seoul, proposed bonuses totalling approximately one million dollars for any couple forming a household after marriage and having at least one child. Charges pending against Na for corruption were recently nolle prossed by prosecutors.
I have two previous articles posted on this blog on the press prosecution collusion scandal involving prosecutor Han and reporter Lee Dong-jae:
1) South Korea's Press-Prosecution Collusion Scandal: the audio transcript, JULY 23, 2020
2) Seoul Judge Cancels Lee Dong-jae Search Warrant, July 26, 2020.
The blog has over a dozen other articles on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and the political corruption in the administration of justice in South Korea posted since March 2020.
The blog has one post on the leaky nuclear facilities at Wolseong, South Korea. Nuclear Contamination detected in underground water at Wolseong Nuclear Power site, Jan. 8, 2021.
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