The special investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, tasked with investigating the insurrection and foreign conspiracy incidents related to the December 3 Emergency Martial Law, has initiated an inquiry into former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s alleged perjury.
According to legal sources on Monday, the special investigation team has commenced its probe into Han’s perjury allegations. As part of this investigation, they recently summoned former Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae Yul and Minister of Unification Kim Young Ho as witnesses for questioning.
Reports suggest that the team showed the witnesses closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the presidential office’s grand reception room on the day of the state of emergency declaration. They inquired about the circumstances surrounding the cabinet meeting, both before and after it took place.
The special investigation team suspects that Han’s testimony before the National Assembly, in which he claimed to be unaware of the emergency declaration, may have been false. They are now thoroughly examining related allegations.
Previously, on February 6, Han stated in the National Assembly that he had no awareness until the cabinet meeting to lift the emergency, and later found it in his suit’s back pocket. During the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial against former President Yoon Suk Yeol on February 20, he further claimed that he really didn’t remember when or how he received the emergency declaration document.
On July 2, the special investigation team summoned Han as a suspect for allegedly aiding insurrection and conducted an inquiry. Subsequently, on July 19, they questioned former Minister Cho, and the day before, Minister Kim, both as witnesses in the ongoing investigation.