The joint investigation headquarters of prosecutors and police (hereafter the joint headquarters), which is investigating alleged collusion between politics and religion, continued to trade barbs on the 11th with the ruling and opposition parties over its decision not to indict Chun Jae-soo, the Busan mayoral candidate accused of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church.
Park Seong-hoon, senior spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a commentary that day, "The joint headquarters' decision not to indict is the worst disgrace for Korea's investigative authorities," adding, "It will go down as a symbol of the corruption of the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party."
He went on to note that the non-prosecution decision came the day after Chun won the party primary, saying, "It is a 'custom-tailored indulgence' delivered just one day after the candidacy was finalized. This is an admission that, for the Lee Jae-myung administration, the law is a sword to eliminate political opponents and a shield to cover up the crimes of insiders."
He added, "The Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party's distorted understanding of the law is now beyond rescue. For them, the law is merely a privilege that lets them insist, 'Even if I commit a crime, it is not a crime.'"
In response, Kim Gi-pyo, spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a written briefing, "Calling it a 'custom-tailored indulgence' when the case ended with no charges because they could not invent a crime that does not exist—are they saying to indict unconditionally even without evidence?"
He continued, "Driving Chun as the mastermind of the crime by seizing on staff's poor judgment is also a political offensive," adding, "Other former lawmakers investigated over the same case were also cleared due to lack of evidence. The same standard was applied regardless of party."
He added, "They are throwing a tantrum solely to shake up the election despite knowing all judicial procedures and facts."
Earlier, the joint headquarters closed the case against Chun, who was suspected of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church, citing expiration of the statute of limitations or insufficient evidence, and concluded it as no right of prosecution and no charges.
However, the joint headquarters judged that charges were confirmed for four of Chun's aides suspected of destroying evidence and referred them to trial without detention. They are accused of initializing PCs in the Busan constituency office after media reported allegations that the then-lawmaker had received money and valuables and as police raids were anticipated.