Police are speeding up their investigation into Kim Yong-won, a standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, who is accused of obstructing emergency relief measures for Col. Park Jeong-hoon, the former head of the Marine Corps investigation unit who was investigated after revealing external pressure on the probe into a Marine's death in the line of duty.
According to police and others on the 23rd, the Korean National Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters for the three special counsels will summon former NHRC Secretary-General Park Jin on the 26th and former NHRC Standing Commissioner Nam Gyu-seon on Jan. 1 as reference witnesses for questioning. The special unit plans to check why Col. Park's emergency relief was dismissed and whether there was external pressure in the process.
Before summoning the two, the special unit is said to have questioned NHRC employees as reference witnesses.
Recently, the special unit assigned to Team 1 the case handed over by the Marine special counsel involving Standing Commissioner Kim on charges of dereliction of duty and abuse of authority to interfere with the exercise of rights, and assigned to Team 2 the case transferred by the insurrection special counsel involving NHRC Chairperson Ahn Chang-ho on charges of insurrection propaganda and instigation, and launched investigations.
The Marine special counsel is reported to have found that Standing Commissioner Kim's actions—leaving the standing committee without cause or failing to appear, and coercing staff to write improper memorandums—constituted dereliction of duty and abuse of authority.
Chairperson Ahn has been under investigation after being accused of being responsible for the NHRC's passage in February of an emergency agenda item titled "guaranteeing Yoon's right to defense" during the impeachment phase of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.