Prosecutors who were part of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's investigation command line at the time have been indicted en masse over allegations that they gave preferential treatment to Kim Keon-hee during the investigation into her involvement in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.

The special counsel team concluded that former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung was also involved in covering up the investigation and booked him on charges of abuse of power, though he was excluded from the indictment list.

The comprehensive special counsel team announced today (August 20) that it has indicted five individuals, including former Seoul Central District Chief Prosecutor Lee Chang-soo, without detention.

The indicted individuals include four members of the investigation team: former Senior Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 at the Central District Prosecutors' Office, who served as the lead prosecutor at the time; former Gongju Branch Chief Kim Min-gu of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office; and former Deputy Prosecutor Seo Min-seok of the Anti-Corruption Division 2.

The allegations surrounding the cover-up of the Deutsch Motors investigation center on claims that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office cleared Kim, who had been pointed out as an accomplice, without conducting a proper investigation when disposing of the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.

At the time, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Central District Prosecutors' Office cleared Kim of Violations of the Capital Markets Act, concluding that she merely entrusted her account management to Kwon Oh-soo, former chairman of Deutsch Motors and head of a listed company, in hopes of making a profit, and that she was unaware of the price-manipulation crimes.

The special counsel team applied charges of creating and uttering false official documents to former Chief Prosecutor Lee, former Senior Prosecutor Choi, and two others, stating that the creation date of the "comprehensive investigation results report" drafted even after the non-prosecution disposition was falsified.

Regarding the so-called "editing controversy," which alleged that written response questionnaires were exchanged in advance with Kim's legal counsel, former Chief Prosecutor Lee and former Senior Prosecutor Choi were also sent to trial on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Furthermore, the special counsel team indicted former Branch Chief Kim Min-gu under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, determining that although he received a proxy appointment assignment citing trial duties, he did not actually participate in trials and instead took part in an "on-site interrogation" of Kim.

(Photo: Yonhap News)