Interior Minister Urges Inspection Over Prosecutors' Dismissal of Warrant for Former City Councilor Suspected of Child Prostitution

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung raised his voice today (the 22nd) regarding the prosecutors' office dismissing a communication warrant requested for former Cheongju City Councilor Choi Young-joong, who is under police investigation for alleged child prostitution, asking, "Where on earth are those capable prosecutors when it comes to investigating such cases?"

Attending an emergency pending issue questioning session at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Minister Yoon expressed his views after stating, "I am hearing about the details regarding the case of the former city councilor only now."

With a flushed expression, he pointed out, "I believe the Ministry of Justice should also order an inspection of the prosecution," adding, "I think the possibility of protection by a local chapter chairperson with a background as a prosecutor is extremely high."

"The police are no different," Minister Yoon emphasized. "He received a nomination as a city councilor and was registered. His address, name, and resident registration number were all there. Why did they only apply for a warrant after he took office as the local city councilor? I want to state that I am willing to order a direct inspection by the National Police Agency into this process if necessary."

In response to a remark by National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairperson Seo Young-kyo—who pointed out that given the high severity of the crimes, such as former Councilor Choi allegedly producing child sexual exploitation materials, and the high possibility of additional offenses, a communication warrant should have been issued—Minister Yoon criticized, "A request for the submission of communication data is not as strict as applying for a warrant. It is a matter where sufficient cooperation could be provided to utilize it as investigative data, and the fact that even that was dismissed by the prosecutors makes no sense."

In February of this year, the police received a complaint from the victim's parents regarding former Councilor Choi's case, but faced criticism for a delayed investigation as they proceeded with a search and seizure five months later.

The controversy grew as it became known that prosecutors had dismissed the communication warrant requested by the police.

Meanwhile, Minister Yoon estimated that the upcoming Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA), set to launch in October of this year, will have a workforce of about 3,000 personnel, regardless of whether prosecutors retain supplementary investigation rights.

Responding to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Yong-min asking whether the workforce size could vary depending on whether supplementary investigation rights remain with the prosecution, Minister Yoon said, "Regardless of the existence of supplementary investigation rights, the seven major crimes that the SCIA must handle are already determined," and added, "We will finalize the organization and scale of the workforce assigned to investigations regardless of supplementary investigation rights."

Stating that the approximate workforce size of the SCIA is currently under discussion, Minister Yoon noted, "We are looking to establish a Serious Crimes Investigation Agency with a scale close to 3,000 personnel."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.