Search Results for: blue house corruption

The Moon administration has finally gotten Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to resign:

 Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl resigned Thursday, after strongly objecting to the ruling party’s push to create a new state agency to fully take over investigative powers from the prosecution service.

“I am offering to resign as of today,” Yoon said at a brief press conference held in front of the Supreme Prosecutors Office in Seoul.

“The spirits of the Constitution and the system of rule of law are crumbling. And it will cause damage to people. It is hard to watch common sense and justice collapsing,” he said, adding that he has done everything he could do in his capacity as prosecutor general.

President Moon Jae-in swiftly accepted his resignation offer, Cheong Wa Dae said, shortly after the prosecution chief made the announcement.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Moon administration has been trying to take out Yoon because he had the nerve to investigate corruption within the administration. That is what makes this new investigation agency they want to establish so controversial because an administration with a numerous corruption issues wants to form their own agency to investigate corruption and other crimes. The concern is that ruling party will use it to protect themselves and go after their political enemies. If this new agency was in operation when the Cho Kuk scandal hit does anyone think this Blue House appointed agency would have done much to investigate and indict him and his family for corruption?

As I have said before South Korea has long been a rule by law country and not a rule of law country. This agency may make it worse.

As expected the Moon administration has suspended the Prosecutor General and are using the Justice Minister as the scapegoat:

 President Moon Jae-in has approved the justice ministry’s decision to suspend South Korea’s top prosecutor from duty for two months, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

The measure against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over multiple charges of ethical and legal misdeeds came after the ministry’s disciplinary committee voted to punish him in a marathon session that ended early Wednesday morning.

President Moon approved the decision at 6:30 p.m. after Choo visited his office in the afternoon for a related briefing to the president, according to Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication. The measure immediately went into effect.

Chung, meanwhile, added that Choo has tendered a resignation.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Choo is just carrying out the Blue House’s orders to get rid of Yoon because he would not cover up corruption occurring in the Moon administration.

Her resignation offer is what her political party was advocating for as cover for Yoon’s suspension. This is all political theater to get Yoon out of the way of the prosecutor reforms the Moon administration is trying to implement as well as stop any further investigation into corruption in the Moon administration. It also side lines Yoon who has been growing in popularity as a presidential candidate due to his stance against corruption in the Moon administration.

Could you imagine what the international media reaction would be if President Trump suspended Robert Mueller during his special counsel investigation into the Trump administration? This is basically what is happening here and I expect it will get little if any international media attention.

Anyone following the corruption allegations against Cho Kuk and his family should find none of this news surprising:

A former presidential secretary in charge of anticorruption has made a series of statements that Cho Kuk, a former justice minister and senior secretary for civil affairs in President Moon Jae-in’s administration, abused his power to shut down a probe into one of the president’s political allies.  
   
Park Hyoung-chul offered the testimony Friday during a Seoul Central District Court trial in which he and two others — Cho and Baek Won-woo, former presidential secretary for civil affairs — are all charged with abuse of power.  
   
Testifying during the seventh session of their trial, Park said that Cho had ordered him to shut down the Blue House’s audit into corruption allegations against Yoo Jae-soo, a former public servant and a political ally of Moon.    
   
Park said the December 2017 audit indicated that Yoo, who was serving as the financial policy director of the Financial Services Commission, had received bribes. Park said his office wanted to continue the investigation or send the case to the investigative authorities, such as the Board of Audit and Inspection, but Cho decided to shut it down. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but at this point with Moon’s ally Choo Mi-ae installed as the Justice Minister, Cho Kuk is now pretty much protected from being prosecuted for any crimes.

It figures that the Moon administration would bring up the GSOMIA issue again before April’s parliamentary elections in order to promote anti-Japanese sentiment:

Controversy is resurfacing over the possible termination of a military intelligence sharing agreement with Japan, ahead of the March 1 Independence Day and the April 15 general election. 

Speculation is mounting that the government could ultimately terminate the General Security of Information Sharing Agreement (GSOMIA), given the absence of any significant outcome from bilateral negotiations to remove Japan’s trade restrictions imposed on certain Korean companies last summer. In response to the restrictions, the government announced the termination of the agreement, but held off on this in November to show its commitment to bilateral negotiations to settle the trade dispute. (……)

During a recent press conference, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that Korea could still consider terminating the GSOMIA depending on what is deemed best for the “national interest.” “There have been talks between the export authorities, but we have still not returned to the situation before July 1 [when Japan imposed the exports ban],” Kang said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it is pretty clear how important April’s vote is for the Blue House. They have changed election laws that will increase the number of unelected left wing parliament seats, covered up the investigations into Blue House corruption, fired the head of Statistics Korea to get better economic stats, has not reached a cost sharing deal with the U.S., and now threatening to cancel the GSOMIA pact again.

What is incredible is that Im is claiming this is a political prosecution against him by Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl when Yoon was hand selected by President Moon just back in July for the position. So how bad must the corruption be when Yoon is moving forward with this prosecution after being hand selected by President Moon and then having his deputy prosecutors replaced by the Moon administration in an effort to cover this up?:

Im Jong-seok, President Moon Jae-in’s former chief of staff, voluntarily faced the press on his way to be questioned as a criminal suspect Thursday and attacked Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl for conducting a politically motivated investigation of him. 

Im, who served as Moon’s chief of staff from May 2017 till January 2019, arrived at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in southern Seoul around 10 a.m. and addressed the press before entering the building. Im was questioned by prosecutors about an allegation that top Blue House officials abused their power to influence the Ulsan mayoral election in 2018. 

The presidential office is accused of masterminding a police probe against then-Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon of the opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) in order to help Moon’s friend, Song Cheol-ho, win the race. Song and 12 others were indicted on Wednesday on charges of election law violations. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but Im must be livid because he was supposed to be getting away with all this with the people President Moon hand selected in the prosecution. Before anyone starts shedding any tears for poor Im remember he is the one that led a group that tried to bomb the U.S. embassy in Seoul and once served as the bagman for the Kim regime in North Korea.

This should be a surprise to no one that with the appointment of the new Choo Mi-ae as the ROK Justice Minister that stopping further investigation into the current government would be her first priority:

The Ministry of Justice abruptly reassigned prosecutors who have been investigating abuse of power and corruption allegations against key members of the Moon Jae-in administration and effectively demoted Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s closest aides. 

The ministry announced Wednesday evening that 32 senior members of the prosecution will be moved to new posts as of Monday. According to the ministry, 10 prosecutors were promoted to serve as heads of five high prosecutors’ offices and five district prosecutors’ offices, and the remaining 22 were reassigned to other jobs.

While prosecutors who have been working on high-profile cases involving Moon’s associates were moved to less important posts outside Seoul, prosecutors who had maintained amicable ties with the current administration or the administration of Roh Moo-hyun, the political mentor of Moon, were moved into powerful posts. 

According to the ministry, Han Dong-hoon, head of the anticorruption and organized crimes department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, was named as deputy head of the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office. Han was the lead prosecutor in the investigations into academic and financial transgressions allegedly committed by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his family. 

Park Chan-ho, head of the public security department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, was named head of the Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office. Park has been investigating the allegations that the Blue House abused its power to influence the 2018 Ulsan mayoral election and help a Moon associate win. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

Here is what prosecutors had to say:

“This is an overt attempt to dismantle the investigations [against the administration],” a senior prosecutor said. 

After Moon formally appointed Choo as justice minister last week, a massive reshuffle was expected. The announcement was made abruptly Wednesday evening.  

Choo left her office at the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, around 4 p.m. Wednesday and headed to the Blue House, presumably to brief Moon about her plan. 

Two hours after Choo left the Blue House, the ministry announced the reshuffle around 7:30 p.m. “I have never seen a reshuffle announced after sunset,” said a prosecution official. 

Legal sources said the reshuffle was a political amputation of Yoon’s authorities. They said prosecutors loyal to the administration were appointed to the vacancies left by Yoon’s allies.

You can read more at the link, but when you hear the Korean left talk about prosecutor reform, this is the reform they are talking about. The next step will be having the prosecutors closely aligned with the Korean left begin investigating their political rivals.

Here is what came out of the ROK Justice Minister confirmation hearings. He essentially denied all the corruption claims and if any did happen they were his wife’s fault:

Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk denied he had any part in alleged corruption involving his family during a confirmation hearing Friday, as political parties wrangled over his suitability for the post.

Cho repeatedly apologized to the public for the allegations that have caused public disappointment and uproar, but he also expressed his unwavering commitment to carrying out reform of the prosecution.

“For the reform, I think that a proper candidate for justice minister should have no experience serving as a prosecutor. If not, the person cannot help representing interests of the prosecution,” Cho told lawmakers.

Cho, a former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, was bombarded with questions by lawmakers over his supposed ethical lapses linked to suspected corruption involving his family.

Yonhap

Here is where new allegations have surfaced and he blamed his wife:

During the hearing, lawmakers mainly bickered over fresh allegations that Cho’s spouse may have fabricated a school award for her daughter.

Cho’s wife, a Dongyang University professor surnamed Chung, faces allegations that she may have forged the dean’s award certificate in 2012 to help the daughter enter the PNU medical school in 2014.

The award was allegedly given in recognition of volunteer work at the school’s English education center for children from rural villages in Yeongju, 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Chung later became the chief of the center.

Dongyang University Dean Choi Sung-hae said Thursday that Chung asked him to say he had entrusted her with the authority to issue the dean’s award certificate. His remarks spawned speculation that Chung may have attempted to destroy evidence.

Choi told Yonhap News Agency that Chung put her husband on the phone with him and he was pressed by Cho to make a false statement on the forgery allegations against Chung.

Cho acknowledged that he spoke by phone with Choi, but dismissed claims that he might have exerted pressure on the chief.

“I told Choi that I am sorry (about the row) and asked him to reveal the truth as it is,” Cho said.

“If my wife committed (the alleged forgery), she should have to take legal responsibility, as everybody is equal before law,” he noted.

Look how brazen Cho is that he knows he is under intense scrutiny, but still gets on the phone to pressure a witness before his confirmation hearing and then blames his wife for anything illegal that may have happened.

He knows just like other corrupt Moon administration officials that he will get appointed and the public flogging he is taking now will be quickly forgotten by a largely Blue House controlled news media.

How come I feel this is just a big dog and pony show to help smooth the way towards Cho Kuk nomination approval next week?:

The prosecution began investigating allegations surrounding justice minister nominee Cho Kuk and his family, Tuesday, carrying out large-scale search and seizure raids on a dozen schools and other facilities linked to the suspicions.

According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigators conducted searches at Busan Medical Center, and Seoul National (SNU), Korea, Dankook and Kongju National universities for evidence related to the allegations of preferential treatment given to Cho’s daughter in her college admissions and receipt of scholarships.

The law enforcement agency also sent investigators to a private equity firm that Cho made a huge investment in amid suspicions that he tried to transfer his wealth to his children without paying taxes; as well as a private school foundation run by his mother. 

Currently, 11 complaints have been filed with the prosecution regarding the scandal. 

“As public concern has been raised over the allegations against Cho, we decided to conduct the raids to clarify the facts,” a prosecutor said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but would anyone be surprised if the Blue House announces that these raids produced no evidence thus Cho’s nomination should be approved next week.

Here is the latest on the martial law issue in South Korea:

Documents submitted by the defense ministry show the earlier reported proposal from the defense intelligence agency to declare martial law may have been more deliberate than earlier believed, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, apparently implying the military may have actually sought to go ahead with such a plan.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the military maintained and renewed its plans for a martial law every two years, but that the new documents submitted by the ministry showed significant changes and differences from the original plans.

“Usually, the military renews its martial law plans every two years,” the spokesman told a press briefing. “(Cheong Wa Dae) has confirmed the submitted documents are completely different from the existing plans.”

The military documents have been submitted after President Moon Jae-in made a special order for the defense ministry and the military to submit all documents related to the martial law proposal from the Defense Security Command (DSC), which reportedly came in the wake of protest rallies and candlelight vigils in late 2016 that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye on suspicions of corruption.

Kim said the proposal even included plans to inspect and censor news articles.

Also, the DSC suggested the chief of the Army take control of a martial law command, instead of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under conventional military plans.

It also suggested the head of the National Intelligence Service be subject to leadership of the top military commander under its proposed martial law, suggesting military control of the government, as well as the top spy agency.

To the apparent surprise of many, the DSC even stressed a need to arrest and remove then opposition lawmakers who took part in the protest rallies against Park, partly to prevent the parliament from impeaching then-President Park and lifting the martial law, Kim explained.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but remember the martial law plans were updated to prepare for massive riots if President Park was not impeached.  From what I have read these plans were for worst case scenarios.  If massive riots were to happen that the police could not handle and threatened the stability of the government, was the ROK military expected to just stand by and do nothing?

That is why I would not be surprised if this martial law issue is being sensationalized to create an excuse for the Blue House to replace ROK military leadership they feel are not ideologically friendly to their political goals.  Of course this will all be sold as “reforms” and not a purge.

Is it just me or is the detention of former President Park really beginning to stink with the Blue House suddenly finding documents in regards to the Sewol tragedy to hopefully keep her imprisoned?  I thought they had all this evidence of her corruption to keep her imprisoned?:

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday that it has found documents from the former administration that show the former president may have lied about her role in dealing with the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry three years ago.

The documents, found in the crisis management office at Cheong Wa Dae, included a daily journal from the office drafted April 16, 2014, when the passenger ferry sank in waters off the country’s western coast, killing more than 300 people, according to Im Jong-seok, the presidential chief of staff.

Im said the daily log showed the first report of the accident was made to then-President Park Geun-hye at 9:30 a.m., instead of at 10 a.m., as earlier claimed by the ousted leader and her aides.

The Cheong Wa Dae official said the document was revised Oct. 23, 2014, to say the first report was made at 10 a.m.

“The reason they pushed back the time of the first report to the president by half an hour appears to have been an attempt to reduce the time between the first report and Park’s first order, said to have been made at around 10:15 a.m.,” Im said at a press briefing, apparently suggesting a 45-minute gap between the first report and the first order would have aggravate criticism for her inaction during the accident that left 304 people dead.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.