A second comprehensive special prosecutor team led by Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young has barred Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the People Power Party, from leaving the country after he was accused in connection with allegations that an investigation into remittances to North Korea was manipulated.
The team said on the 6th that it imposed a travel ban on Han. A special prosecutor official said the restriction followed the filing of a complaint naming Han as an accused party in a case alleging presidential office interference in a Suwon District Prosecutors Office investigation.
According to the Justice Ministry’s Korea Immigration Service, Han has been under a travel ban from the 13th of last month through the 12th of this month due to the ongoing investigation.
Han disclosed the travel ban on Facebook and said, “Last year, the Chae Sang-byeong special prosecutor imposed a travel ban on me for an absurd reason and then closed the case without even questioning me. This special prosecutor is repeating the same excessive move.”
He added, “The Democratic Party couldn’t even call me as a witness for a parliamentary probe aimed at canceling Lee Jae-myung’s indictment, yet the party and political special prosecutors keep putting on a show. Again, I say, ‘Go ahead and try.’ But there must be no election interference.”
Earlier, the civic group Judicial Justice Action filed a complaint with the special prosecutor team on the 7th of last month against seven people, including Han, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, former Suwon District Prosecutors Office chief Hong Seung-wook, former second deputy chief prosecutor Kim Young-il, former Criminal Division 6 chief Kim Young-nam, and prosecutor Park Sang-yong. The group alleged abuse of authority and obstruction of rights, and inducing perjury, among other charges.
The group said the complaint was based on claims that a “typical fabricated investigation aimed at eliminating a political rival” was carried out to tie Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung — described as a leading presidential contender who lost the 20th presidential election by 0.7 percentage points — to the case.
The special prosecutor team received the Ssangbangwool remittances-to-North-Korea case from a human rights inspection task force at the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in early last month. It has since pursued the probe under the name “alleged presidential office interference in the Suwon District Prosecutors Office investigation.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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