Prosecutors raid Presidential Archives ahead of general election in April

Officials enter the Presidential Archives in Sejong City on Sunday. Prosecutors launched a raid on the presidential archives on Sunday in connection with the Moon Jae-in administration\'s alleged interference in the Ulsan mayoral election. Yonhap News Agency

Prosecutors re-investigating allegations of the Moon Jae-in administration’s interference in the Ulsan mayoral election raided the Presidential Archives in Sejong on March 7. It comes more than a month after the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office ordered the reopening of the investigation in January. The opposition has reacted by saying that the prosecution's probes targeting opposition figures began in earnest just about a month to go before the upcoming general election in April.

The Seoul Central District Public Prosecutors' Office sent prosecutors and investigators to the Presidential Archives in Sejong earlier in the day to secure records of internal decision-making by the Moon Jae-in administration. This is to bolster the initial investigation, which failed to secure internal data due to a failed raid on Cheong Wa Dae.

The case of interference in the Ulsan mayoral election is an allegation that Cheong Wa Dae intervened in the local election in 2018 to help former Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho, a longtime friend of former President Moon Jae-in, win the election, which is a violation of the Public Official Election Act and an abuse of official authority. Cho Kuk, former Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, and Lee Kwang-chul, former Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, are suspected of being involved in an investigation against then-Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon ahead of the local election. Cho and Lim Jong-seok, former Chief of Staff to the President, are suspected of being involved in helping the former mayor Song win the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)'s nomination for the local election without ballot within the party.

The reinvestigation was triggered by the court's first trial in November last year that sentenced key people involved, including former Mayor Song and DPK lawmaker Hwang Un-ha (then head of Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency). The Seoul High Prosecutor's Office ordered the reopening in January after reviewing the court ruling, saying further investigation was needed. Five people are under investigation, including former Senior Secretary Cho, former Chief of Staff Lim, former Secretary Lee, former Mayor Song, and former deputy mayor of Ulsan Song Byung-ki.

In January 2020, prosecutors brought former Mayor Song and lawmaker Hwang to trial in connection with the case, but dropped the charges against Cho and Lim, citing insufficient evidence. At the time, the investigation team was unable to raid Cheong Wa Dae due to its refusal, and was unable to expand the investigation to the "superiors" because officials at Cheong Wa Dae refused to be questioned as a reference. In the indictment against Cho and others, the investigative team said there was insufficient evidence to support their involvement but left room for further investigation, saying "There are strong suspicions that they were involved in the interference.“

The raid, which began on Thursday, is expected to take at least a month, including forensic procedures. Earlier, the prosecution raided the Presidential Archives for more than three months in connection with the manipulation case of a Korean civil servant who was shot in the West Sea. Given the process of analyzing the seized articles, the investigation of the major suspects, including Cho and Lim, is likely to take place after the general election.

Cho, who is facing the re-investigation, recently founded the National Innovation Party and is running for the general election. Lim was recently cut off during the DPK’s nomination process for the upcoming election. Shin Jang-sik, spokesperson for the National Innovation Party, said, "Prosecutors are wasting their investigative power by targeting Cho through the re-investigation of the old case. As people’s aspirations for the National Innovation Party soar day by day, the prosecution regime led by Yoon Suk-yeol is getting scared and sharpening the blade of the investigation. A frightened dog barks loudly.”

Choi Hye-young, the DPK’s floor spokesperson, also said, "The political prosecutors' targeted investigation to put the former president in the prosecution's photo line is unstoppable," adding, "The prosecutors' tactic to make use of the investigation for the general election by reopening the case that has already been dismissed due to insufficient evidence shows the highest level of unscrupulousness."

Prosecutors said they were proceeding with the investigation according to procedure without political considerations. "We are proceeding with the necessary investigations to verify the facts," a prosecutor said. "We are not taking political considerations, such as not conducting necessary investigations because an election is around the corner."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.