The ruling People Power Party (PPP) filed a criminal complaint with police on Friday against Special Counsel Min Joong-ki on charges of dereliction of duty, accusing him of attempting to cover up contacts between some ruling party figures and the Unification Church.
The party also filed a complaint against former Oceans and Fisheries Minister Jeon Jae-su, who resigned the same day amid allegations of receiving money from the Unification Church, on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and bribery.
"Today we filed complaints against Special Counsel Min and former Minister Jeon," said Cho Bae-sook, chair of the PPP's Special Committee for Judicial Justice and Prevention of Dictatorship, after submitting the complaints to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. "Special Counsel Min has abandoned his mission and revealed himself to be a servant of President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party regime."
Cho accused Min of past misconduct, stating, "Special Counsel Min previously caused the death of a Yangpyeong public official through coercive investigation, and also realized gains by investing in the same stocks as First Lady Kim Keon-hee and selling them just before delisting."
She further alleged, "In August, he received testimony from former Unification Church World Headquarters Director Yoon Young-ho that Democratic Party lawmakers were involved with the Unification Church, but only wrote an investigation report without even entering a case number and kept it quiet."
"There were internal opinions that this matter should be investigated, but it was reportedly suppressed by superiors," Cho said. "They claim this is outside the scope of investigation, but according to the Special Counsel Act, matters discovered during the investigation process can also be investigated."
She added, "Due to the delayed response and lenient investigation, the statute of limitations on former Minister Jeon's charges is approaching. That constitutes dereliction of duty."
Rep. Kwak Kyu-taek, who submitted the complaint alongside Cho, said, "If police have the will to investigate, they should conduct search and seizure within this week and swiftly summon relevant parties for questioning next week."
"If the investigation does not proceed, we will consider introducing a separate special counsel bill targeting Special Counsel Min, former Minister Jeon, and current and former Democratic Party lawmakers," Kwak added.
