'Park Jeong-hoon Complaint Dismissed' Human Rights Commissioner Kim Yong-won to Appear Before Special Prosecutor as Suspect Tomorrow

Criticized 'Retrieval of Chae Sang-byeong Records' then suddenly changed his stance after a call with Lee Jong-seop… Accused of Abuse of Power

Implicated in 'Im Seong-geun Rescuer Lobbying Suspicion,' Lee Jong-ho Booked for Evidence Tampering… Summoned for the 1st of Next Month

Kim Yong-won, Standing Member of the National Human Rights Commission, Responds to Reporters' Questions (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Hwa-young = Kim Yong-won, Standing Member of the National Human Rights Commission, is answering reporters' questions after the Committee on Military Human Rights Protection held at the Human Rights Commission in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 18th.

The Committee on Military Human Rights Protection discussed urgent relief measures for individuals involved in the December 3 martial law incident, including former Defense Intelligence Commander Moon Sang-ho, former Counter-Intelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung, former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo, and former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun. 2025.2.18 hwayoung7@yna.co.kr

The special prosecution team investigating the alleged external pressure and cover-up in the death of Private Chae Sang-byeong will summon Kim Yong-won, a standing member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), as a suspect on the 31st in relation to the alleged dismissal of Park Jeong-hoon's complaint.

At a regular briefing on the 30th, Special Prosecutor Jung Min-young stated, "We plan to investigate Mr. Kim as a suspect on charges of abuse of power at 2 PM on the 31st."

Kim Yong-won played a key role in dismissing the NHRC's urgent relief measures application and complaint concerning Colonel Park Jeong-hoon (former Marine Corps Investigation Unit Head), who was under investigation for insubordination.

At the time, the Subcommittee on Military Human Rights, chaired by Kim, dismissed the urgent relief measures application for Colonel Park filed by the Military Human Rights Center on August 14, 2023, on August 29 of the same month. The complaint filed by the Military Human Rights Center regarding the human rights violations against Colonel Park on the same day was also dismissed in January of last year.

Kim Yong-won was known to have initially held a negative stance on the alleged external pressure in the Chae Sang-byeong death case, issuing a statement on August 9, 2023, criticizing the Defense Ministry's prosecution division's action to retrieve investigation materials related to the Chae Sang-byeong case.

The special prosecution team suspects that former Minister Lee Jong-seop influenced Kim Yong-won's sudden change in stance.

Earlier, the special prosecution team had placed Kim Yong-won under an overseas travel ban in August and searched his NHRC office on the 16th.

Former Black Pearl Investment CEO Lee Jong-ho Heads to the Special Prosecutor's Office (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sung-min = Former Black Pearl Investment CEO Lee Jong-ho is appearing at the Special Prosecution Team for the Death of a Marine in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 12th for questioning as a witness. 2025.10.12 ksm7976@yna.co.kr

The investigation into the lobbying allegations to protect former Marine Corps Division 1 Commander Im Seong-geun is also gaining momentum.

Special Prosecutor Jung announced that Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Investment, who has been identified as one of the lobbying channels, has been booked on charges of evidence tampering and will be summoned on the 1st of next month.

In August, Lee was accused of attempting to destroy his mobile phone on the banks of the Han River with an associate, identified as A.

Lee is mentioned as an associate of Ms. Kim Kun-hee, as he directly managed her accounts during the second phase of Deutsche Motors' stock price manipulation.

The special prosecution team is investigating whether Lee lobbied Ms. Kim to have former Commander Im removed from the list of suspects. Recently, they obtained testimony from numerous witnesses, including actor Park Sung-woong, stating that Lee and former Commander Im have maintained a close friendship for a long time.

Pre-trial witness examinations are also scheduled for next month to question individuals involved in the Protestant community's lobbying allegations and secure related testimonies.

The examination of Pastor Kim Jang-hwan (Chairman of Far East Broadcasting) is scheduled for the 3rd of next month, and the examination of former Far East Broadcasting President Han Ki-bung is scheduled for the 13th of next month.

However, as it was confirmed that they had not yet received their summons, the special prosecution team stated that they would attempt to re-serve the summons after changing their addresses. Yonhap News