Amid allegations that illegal acts such as leaking official secrets occurred during the investigation into the "Kim Hak-ui illegal travel ban case," the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) launched searches and seizures. The CIO said it is investigating the cases in which the prosecutors in charge at the time were accused.
The CIO's Third Investigation Division (headed by Senior Prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan) said on Feb. 11 it was conducting searches and seizures at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, among other locations. The CIO explained it is working to secure case-related records, including reports and documents prepared by the investigation team at the time.
Earlier, prosecutors indicted Cha Gyu-geun, a Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker, Lee Kyu-won, the strategy chairperson, and Lee Kwang-cheol, a former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, on charges including abuse of authority. Prosecutors determined that when signs of former Vice Minister Kim's attempt to leave the country were detected on Mar. 22, 2019, an emergency travel ban was imposed illegally.
Lee, the chairperson, was accused of submitting an emergency travel ban request using a past case number and entering a nonexistent internal inquiry number on the post-approval request. Cha, the lawmaker, was charged with granting post-approval despite knowing the emergency travel ban was unlawful, and Lee, the former secretary, was charged with coordinating and leading the overall procedures.
In the first trial, the court found the emergency travel ban unlawful because it did not meet legal requirements, but determined it was difficult to punish the defendants for abuse of authority given the circumstances at the time. Prosecutors appealed and sought review by the Supreme Court, but the appellate court and the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, and acquittals were finalized in Jun. last year.
After the acquittals were finalized, Cha, the lawmaker, in Jul. last year filed a complaint with the CIO against then-prosecutors Im Se-jin and Lee Jeong-seop, among others, on charges of falsifying and using official documents and leaking official secrets. The CIO plans to analyze the materials secured through the searches and seizures and then consider whether to summon the accused for questioning.