Prosecutors have decided to conduct an additional internal probe into prosecutor Park Sang-yong, who faces allegations of misconduct during the investigation into Ssangbangwool Group's cash transfers to North Korea, following a disciplinary request already filed against him.
According to legal sources on Thursday, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office is conducting a preliminary investigation for an internal probe into Park. The probe targets include Park's refusal to take an oath as a witness at a parliamentary hearing on the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, part of the "State Investigation into Allegations of Fabricated Indictments by the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration's Political Prosecutors." At the time, Park refused to take the oath, citing reasons such as "preventing the special counsel from withdrawing the indictment against President Lee Jae-myung," and was subsequently removed from the hearing.
Earlier, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office requested a two-month suspension from the Ministry of Justice the previous day, stating it had confirmed misconduct involving violations of procedural regulations during the North Korea remittance investigation. The grounds for disciplinary action include improperly demanding a confession through defense counsel while referring to other ongoing investigations, failing to prepare an investigation process confirmation document despite summoning a detainee for questioning, and providing food or visitation conveniences without legitimate reason.
However, considering that Park was unaware that alcohol had been brought into the interrogation room, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office did not file disciplinary charges regarding his failure to prevent the bringing in and provision of alcohol due to lax management, nor regarding the unnecessary repeated summoning of witnesses.
If the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office proceeds with an additional internal probe after its preliminary investigation, further grounds for disciplinary action could be added. The Ministry of Justice plans to finalize the decision on disciplinary action against Park and the level of sanctions through internal deliberations.
Park is suspected of offering salmon and liquor to induce testimony from suspects including former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young and former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sung-tae while investigating the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. Regarding the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's disciplinary request, Park emphasized on his social networking service (SNS), "The much-publicized salmon-and-liquor party, testimony seminar, and sentence bargaining never happened in the end," adding, "I will prepare thoroughly so that the remaining truth is fully revealed in future proceedings."
