“Investigations Trying to Embarrass My Spouse and My In-laws” Is President Yoon Giving Guidelines to the Prosecution Service?

President Yoon Suk-yeol. Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk-yeol recently described the prosecutors’ investigations into his in-laws as an attempt “to catch whatever they can.” His comment has triggered speculation that the president is giving directions on the investigation and trial. President Yoon has been personally controlling the Prosecution Service through Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon and filled key positions in the Prosecution Service with prosecutors in “Yoon Suk-yeol’s Division,” so experts argued that the messages like the latest one could influence investigations and the maintenance of public prosecution (trials).

In a New Year’s interview with the Chosun Ilbo on January 2, President Yoon spoke about the prosecutors’ investigation into his family and said, “For several years since an investigation was launched into the ministerial nominee Cho Kuk, the prosecutors have probed into my wife and my in-laws from all directions to catch whatever they can, even humiliating me by removing my authority to lead an investigation.” In other words, he accused the Moon Jae-in government for conducting a retaliatory investigation aimed at his in-laws after he launched a probe into the corruption of former justice minister Cho Kuk’s family when Yoon served as prosecutor general.

In October 2020 when the Moon Jae-in government was in office, Choo Mi-ae, the justice minister at the time, gave instructions removing the prosecutor general’s authority to lead the investigation into Kim Keon-hee, the wife of Yoon, the prosecutor general at the time, and his mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon. Since the order applies to the prosecutor general, even the incumbent prosecutor general Lee Won-seok, as well as the former prosecutor general Kim Oh-soo, cannot receive reports on or lead the investigations involving President Yoon’s family.

The Anti-corruption Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Yeong-cheol) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office investigated the alleged stock price manipulation of Deutsch Motors and prosecuted Kwon Oh-soo, chairman of Deutsch Motors, and a string of his accomplices in December 2021, but they have held off any action against first lady Kim, who is suspected of supplying the money for the market manipulation. For over a year since the prosecutors charged the principal offenders, they did not even question Kim in writing, not to mention call her in for questioning. This eventually led the Democratic Party of Korea to call for a special prosecutor.

In the Deutsch Motors trial, the first lady’s name was mentioned several times. In particular, it was revealed that the prosecutors had discovered a file named “Kim Keon-hee,” which included details of the stocks owned by the first lady and details of her account, when they analyzed the computers at the investment advisory firm, which was involved in the stock manipulation.

The Office of the President had argued that the first lady only put her account in their hands in January-May 2010, prior to the first manipulation scheme, but the “Kim Keon-hee” file was created in January 2011, when the firm engaged in the second scheme. This led to stronger speculation that the first lady was actively involved in market manipulation.

As for Choi, the president’s mother-in-law was prosecuted for forging a bank balance certificate. She was sentenced to a year in prison in the first trial and the second trial is still ongoing. Choi is suspected of forging the certificate to make it look like she had approximately 34.9 billion won in her account when she purchased land in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi in 2013.

Choi was also charged for receiving illegal health insurance benefits. She was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial but acquitted in the second trial. Last month, the Supreme Court finalized the acquittal.

Suh Bo-hak, a professor at Kyunghee University Law School said over the phone Tuesday, “He (the president) should have authorities conduct a stricter investigation on the alleged corruption by his own family, but he sent out the message, ‘Take it easy,’ not only to the prosecutors but also to the court.”