DP to pursue impeachment of top prosecutor over dismissal of first lady's stock manipulation case

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DP to pursue impeachment of top prosecutor over dismissal of first lady's stock manipulation case

Published: 18 Oct. 2024, 15:17

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

First lady Kim Keon Hee arrives at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on June 10. [NEWS1]

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) said it will move to impeach Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung, in response to the prosecution not indicting first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scandal.

“The leadership has discussed the impeachment of the prosecutor general and has concluded to proceed with it,” DP chief spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae told the press at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Friday.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office dismissed the charges against Kim Keon Hee on Thursday, concluding that the first lady not only did not participate in artificially inflating the stock price of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer, but was also unaware of the stock manipulation itself.

Kim Keon Hee was suspected of being the "financial backer" who provided funds during the process in which Kwon Oh-soo, the former chairman of Deutsch Motors, allegedly organized a stock manipulation scheme between 2009 and 2012.

“The public's anger is soaring over the prosecution's decision to dismiss all charges against Kim Keon Hee in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case,” said Jo. “We could not stand by and watch as the prosecution failed to act as a just authority for the people, instead acting as 'on-call' prosecutors to protect Kim.”

“Is the Korean prosecution office Kim Keon Hee’s personal law firm?” said DP Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui. “The public has already lost all expectations it had for the politically-driven prosecution dancing on the palm of power, having forgotten any sense of shame.”

Kwon received a two-year suspended sentence for stock manipulation in February of last year. An appellate court sentenced Kwon again in September of this year with a three-year suspended sentence.

Democratic Party (DP) Rep. Park Jie-won, speaks to reporters at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho District, southern Seoul in 2022. [KIM KYUNG-ROK]

While the court acknowledged that the first lady’s accounts were frequently used by people involved in manipulating stocks, she was never indicted due to a lack of proof that she was aware of the scheme.

"I input the Seoul High Court's ruling into ChatGPT,” DP Rep. Park Jie-won, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said on MBC Radio on Friday.

"It responded with, ‘If I were a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, I would tell the chief prosecutor that Kim Keon Hee should be arrested and indicted.’”

Park argued that Shim and others involved must be impeached for the sake of the nation and the integrity of the prosecution.

The DP has been talking of impeaching Shim even since the case against Kim was dismissed.

"We will impeach Prosecutor General Shim and Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Lee Chang-soo, as well as all accomplices involved in covering up Kim Keon Hee’s crimes," DP Rep. Kim Min-seok stated in a press conference Thursday. He serves as the head of the DP's task force for investigating the alleged corruption of the first lady and her family.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), talks at a press briefing held in Korea Christian Association Building in Jongno District, central Seoul on Sept. 6. [YONHAP]

On the same day, Chief Prosecutor Lee stated that he had never received any directives from the presidential office regarding the investigation of the first lady.

During the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit held on Friday, Lee responded to conservative People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Park Jun-tae, who asked, "Was there any external pressure or directives from the presidential office to conclude the investigation with no charges?"

"I never received anything of the sort," Lee replied. “I believe that prosecutors should base their judgments solely on evidence and the facts of the case.”

The DP reintroduced a special prosecutor bill on Thursday to conduct a comprehensive investigation into allegations related to Kim. This is the third time the liberal party introduced the bill.

“The public will criticize such behavior,” said PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon Friday, regarding the DP’s push for the bill.

“What the DP is doing isn't about actually achieving anything,” said Han. “They are repeating something they know will be rejected, something impossible that lacks practicality."

On Monday, Han called for a reshuffle of the presidential office, expressing suspicions that the first lady could be exercising influence over state affairs through a clique of officials in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

At the time, Han said Kim Keon Hee didn't hold any "official position" and argued that any political influence she allegedly wielded would therefore be unjustified.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]