People Power Party: "Last Year Government Conducted Illegal Surveillance on 'Private Citizen Kim Hak-ui'... Searched Information 100 Times"

by Lim Chunhan

Published 06 Dec.2020 12:00(KST)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, demanded a thorough investigation by the prosecution, claiming that the government illegally surveilled former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui over 100 times last year.

On the 6th, Joo held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly and stated, "The Ministry of Justice mobilized frontline public officials to illegally track real-time departure information of former Deputy Minister Kim, a private citizen unrelated to public service, more than 100 times."

He said, "According to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk’s claims, this is a clear case of illegal surveillance of a private citizen," adding, "The mere fact that Ministry of Justice employees illegally used the immigration control information system, one of the nation’s critical information communication networks, constitutes a serious criminal act."

Joo also noted, "Three public officials who viewed the resident registration copies related to former Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook’s paternity served prison sentences," and said, "Today, I will disclose the illegal surveillance status of Ministry of Justice employees and hand over all related documents to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office." He added that this information was received from a whistleblower and that, to protect the whistleblower, he would notify the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission of the whistleblowing report.

People Power Party lawmaker Cho Soo-jin stated, "We have no intention of defending former Deputy Minister Kim," but pointed out, "In a democratic country, if due process is violated, the results cannot be accepted." She also said, "At the time, there was controversy over whether investigation was possible since the statute of limitations had expired, but President Moon Jae-in personally urged that 'even if the statute of limitations has expired, investigation should proceed,' so I think broad surveillance was conducted," directing criticism toward President Moon.

Regarding the possibility that the inquiries were made out of mere curiosity, Joo said, "It is difficult to speculate without seeing accurate investigation materials, but if this is the case, it is necessary to reconsider whether the conclusion that the public interest legal officer viewed the information out of simple curiosity is valid."

On the recommendation of the head of the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Unit (HOCI), Joo stated, "The purpose of the HOCI Act is 'not to appoint a biased HOCI head recklessly without opposition party consent.'" He criticized, "They say the veto power is being abused without even trying to implement it, but how can saying there is no suitable candidate once be considered an abuse of veto power?"