On Monday, Park Sang-yong, the deputy chief prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office, called on Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun to publicly address the ongoing political pressure to drop charges in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case.
In a statement to the media, Park argued that unjustly dismissing charges would effectively confiscate cases from the judiciary, fundamentally undermining the entire legal system.
He emphasized that this is particularly concerning for the North Korean remittance case, where many facts have already been established by court rulings.
Park urged, that if you don’t want to tarnish your legacy as the last Prosecutor General before the prosecution’s restructuring, you must stand firm against such political interference, even at the risk of your acting position. Urging that draw a clear line by stating that attempts to drop charges are unacceptable.
He also requested the disclosure of previous findings from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office regarding the alleged salmon and soju party coercion during the Ssangbangwool investigation.
Currently, a task force (TF) at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office is examining potential human rights violations in the case, including allegations that Suwon prosecutors brought salmon and soju into an interrogation room to pressure former Gyeonggi Province Peace Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young.
Park contended that police investigations, internal probes by the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, and court trials have all found these claims baseless. Yet, investigations into these allegations persist.
He added that the recording related to Kim Sung-tae’s alleged coerced false confession is unrelated to the North Korean remittance case. The Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office team likely knows this from questioning Kim and others. To make this information public.
Park also requested to be called in to present and verify key evidence as a central figure in the case.
Previously, Park appeared before the human rights violation examination TF in December and January for questioning as a witness.