– Broadcast: Channel A News TOP10 (5:20 PM to 7:00 PM)
– Broadcast date: Wednesday, August 21, 2024
– Host: Anchor Kim Jong-seok
– Guests: Kim Geun-sik, former director of the Vision and Strategy Office of the People Power Party; Kim Jin-wook, former spokesperson of the Democratic Party; Bae Jong-ho, professor at Sehan University; Yoon Ki-chan, vice chairman of the legal committee of the People Power Party
[Anchor Kim Jong-seok]: Not looking at it in detail, Representative Han Dong-hoon said that this may be at the level of public perception, but based on facts and legal principles, the prosecution would have made a decision. It is known that they traced it as innocent. Lee Chang-soo, the chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, has reported face-to-face to Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, leaving only the decision of the current prosecutor general. Vice Chairman Yoon Ki-chan. From a legal perspective, the Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office judged it as a gift of gratitude, not bribery, as part of Pastor Choi Jae-young’s gifts, so it does not violate the Anti-Corruption Act. This is how we see it.
[Vice Chairman Yoon Ki-chan]: From the perspective of the prosecution, they would not have only considered the Anti-Corruption Act. They would have also examined whether other crimes like brokerage and solicitation were committed. First of all, in the case of Mrs. Kim, as she is the spouse of a public official, there is no punishment clause under the Anti-Corruption Act regardless of the relevance to official duties. Furthermore, concerning the punishment clause under the Anti-Corruption Act related to the president, if there is no relevance to official duties, there is no obligation to report. Therefore, it does not fall under the clause of failing to report. That is because the notion of relevance to official duties includes the president’s overall tasks, but in fact, when considering Pastor Choi Jae-young’s relationship with Mrs. Kim Geon-hee and the circumstance of giving the gift, these are evaluated comprehensively.
For example, in the case of Pastor Choi Jae-young, after finding out about Mrs. Kim Geon-hee’s father passing away when she was in middle school, he mentioned how he frequently visited the pharmacy her father ran, touching on the emotional connection to her father. Around January 2021, he approached her, and about eight months later, he brought the gift. He simply handed over the gift and left, as the purpose of his visit was not to make a request, but for filming. It was secretly recorded and later used during the election.
Upon observing these circumstances, another factor is that the intention of the solicitation was ultimately not conveyed. Therefore, it was seen that there was no relevance to official duties under the Anti-Corruption Act, so it does not constitute solicitation. As a result, it is not considered bribery for the president either. This is probably the conclusion that has been reached. As for the investigation methods and other aspects raised by Representative Han Dong-hoon, although such matters may be questioned from a public perspective, when it comes to the final conclusion, it is not appropriate to criticize the verdict made by the courts and prosecutors solely based on public opinion.