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On the 19th, prosecutors seized and searched the ‘Presidential Archives’ in relation to two different cases. In the morning, the Daejeon District Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating the case of economic manipulation of the early closure of Wolsong Unit 1 nuclear power plant, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating the case of forced repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea, came out in the followingnoon.
In both cases, the Blue House is suspected of being involved in the Moon Jae-in administration, so it seems that the prosecution’s investigation aimed at the “superior” of the previous administration has begun in earnest.
Unlike other search and seizure warrants issued by the competent district court, it is orthodox that the requirements for issuance, such as proof of charges, are more stringent because the search warrant for the Presidential Archives is handled by the High Court. Therefore, there is also an interpretation that the fact that the presidential records are ‘important evidence’ of the two cases has been explained to a large extent.
In particular, the analysis shows Lee Won-seok’s will and confidence in the investigation in that such a search and seizure was carried out just one day following Lee Won-seok, deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, was appointed as the first prosecutor-general candidate under the Yun Seok-yeol administration.
靑 ‘Supervisor’ ordered the Ministry of Industry to close nuclear power plants early?
On the morning of the 19th, the Daejeon District Prosecutor’s Office 4th Criminal Division (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) sent regarding 10 investigators to search and seize the Presidential Archives in Sejong City. This is to examine whether the Blue House intervened in the early shutdown of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 and whether the Blue House made an illegal shutdown decision by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
At that time, the prosecution, which secured reports written by Blue House officials and documents exchanged with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the issue of early closure of the nuclear power plant, is expected to conduct a search and seizure next week as the amount of presidential records related to the case is huge.
The ‘Case of Economic Manipulation of the Early Closure of Wolsong Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant’ refers to a case in which the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy ordered Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to suspend the operation of Wolsong Unit 1 in 2018, inflicting 148.1 billion won in damages.
Prosecutors, who started investigating the case two years ago, indicted former Minister of Industry Baek Woon-gyu and former Blue House industrial policy secretary Chae Hee-bong in June of last year on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of business. Jeong Jae-hoon, president of KHNP, was handed over to trial on charges of manipulating economic evaluations (breach of duty and obstruction of business) under instructions from former Minister Paik and others.
According to the indictment, in April 2018, then Blue House science and technology adviser Moon Mi-ok posted a report in the Blue House internal reporting system stating that ‘reinforcing bars on the outer wall of Wolsong Unit 1 are exposed and maintenance will be extended’.
Then, it was reported that then President Moon Jae-in commented, ‘When do you plan to decide to permanently stop operation of Wolsong Unit 1?’
Afterwards, former secretary Chae Hee-bong uploaded the ‘Wolsong Unit 1 Early Closure Plan and Future Plan Report’ received from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the Blue House’s internal approval system. It is said to have been passed on to
The Daejeon District Prosecutor’s Office, who was aware of this situation, attempted to additionally indict former Minister Baek Woon-gyu on the charge of trespassing, but it was canceled by former Prosecutor General Kim Oh-su, who opposed the Investigation Deliberation Committee.
In connection with this case, just before the prosecution issued an arrest warrant request for three government officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, then Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae ordered the then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol to suspend his duties, which made the investigation difficult.
Decision on ‘forced repatriation to North Korea’ even before the capture… Is the control tower the Blue House?
On the followingnoon of the 19th, the 3rd Public Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-beom) sent prosecutors and investigators down to the Presidential Archives in Sejong City to conduct a search and seizure. This is to confirm the suspicion that the Blue House National Security Office at the time acted as a ‘control tower’ for the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Unification, and finally made the decision to repatriate North Korean fishermen to North Korea. On that day, the prosecution is said to have secured documents containing the decision-making process of the Blue House National Security Office among the presidential records.
The ‘forcible repatriation of North Korean fishermen’ refers to the suspicion that the Moon Jae-in government illegally repatriated the two fishermen who escaped from North Korea in November 2019, ignoring the ‘willingness to defect’.
At that time, the prosecution, which is investigating the possibility that the ‘repatriation policy’ may have been decided in advance, is checking whether there were any illegal instructions from the Blue House in this process, as the joint investigation of two North Korean fishermen ended in just three days.
According to the prosecution, on November 1, 2019, the day before the South Korean navy seized the ships of North Korean defectors, the Blue House National Security Office is suspected of conveying the message to the National Intelligence Service that ‘the president must investigate and report before the trip’. passed on
In addition, it is reported that the Blue House made an inquiry to the National Intelligence Service, asking if there were any cases of deporting North Korean defectors who committed serious crimes in the past while the ship carrying North Korean defectors was being pursued by the navy.
In addition, on November 4, 2019, two days following the capture, the ‘policy of repatriation to North Korea’ was decided at a meeting presided over by Roh Young-min, former chief of staff at the Blue House. It was also revealed that there was no legal basis.”
In this regard, the North Korean Human Rights Information Center (NKDB) announced on the 12th of last month that former Chief of Staff Roh Young-min, Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, former National Security Office First Vice-Director Kim Yu-geun, Second Vice-Director Kim Hyeon-jong, and former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-cheol abused their powers, illegally arrested and imprisoned criminals, etc. He filed a complaint with the prosecution on charges of escaping.
Former NIS director Seo Hoon, who was the head of the National Intelligence Service at the time of the incident, was accused by the NIS for prematurely ending the joint investigation in three to four days to deal with the new recruits of North Korean defectors.
According to the prosecution, there are also suspicions that the NIS delivered the report related to the joint investigation to the Ministry of Unification at the time, excluding expressions such as ‘forced investigation’ and ‘deportation’ and added ‘no suspicion of anti-aircraft charges’.
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