Special Counsel Summons Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hun for 4th Time Over 'Deutsch Motors Investigation Cover-up' Allegations

The 2nd Special Counsel team has summoned prosecutors who were involved in the investigation into the alleged cover-up of the Deutsch Motors case.
The special counsel team has been questioning Choi Jae-hun, former head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 2 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, as a suspect since this morning (July 2).
This marks the fourth time Chief Prosecutor Choi has been summoned for questioning.
The special counsel team is also questioning Seo Min-seok, a former deputy chief prosecutor of the same department, as a witness.
The allegations of a cover-up in the Deutsch Motors investigation center on claims that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office cleared First Lady Kim Keon-hee of charges without a proper investigation when it closed the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case in 2024, despite her being identified as an accomplice.
In July 2024, the prosecution conducted a private, off-site interrogation of the First Lady at a facility managed by the Presidential Security Service, rather than summoning her to the prosecutors' office.
This sparked criticism from both inside and outside the prosecution, with many questioning whether she was granted preferential treatment to avoid being seen at a photo line.
The special counsel team suspects that the prosecution was improperly involved in the decision to investigate the First Lady through an off-site visit rather than a formal summons, and in the final decision to drop the charges.
The special counsel team believes that Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung and the leadership of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at the time sequentially participated in the decision to clear the First Lady of charges.
The special counsel team also views the post-facto modification of investigation reports as an act of drafting false official documents, and has applied charges including the drafting of false official documents against Chief Prosecutor Choi and former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Lee Chang-soo.
Furthermore, the team has additionally booked them on charges including violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, suspecting that there was an 'editing of written responses' to cover up the case during the process of the investigation team exchanging written answers with the First Lady's side, who were suspects at the time.
Previously, the special counsel team summoned Kim Min-gu, former head of the Gongju Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, who was part of the investigation team at the time, as a suspect on the 30th of last month.
The team plans to summon former District Chief Lee for questioning tomorrow.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.