Chief Prosecutor Hong Was Actually in Command

On Nov. 6th, the Internal Inspection Division of the Highest Public Prosecutors` Office (IID), which has been looking into the sudden death of a suspect in custody of the Seoul District Prosecutors` Office, announced that the chief prosecutor Hong Kyung-ryung and the law enforcement officers conspired to take separate roles for the interrogation. According to the IID, the agents first applied physical force to the dead suspect Cho Chun-hoon. Then, once Cho admitted to his crime, then, they planned to make the affidavit.

The IID also discovered that sometime between 8 to 8:30 a.m., prosecutor Hong was reported that the medical conditions of Cho had got worse. In response, he laid Cho on the bunk in the special interrogation room on the 11th floor of the Seoul District Office. But, prosecutor Hong did not take any action to relieve Cho`s conditions for three hours therefrom to 11:40 a.m. when the emergency call was sent out due to Cho`s difficulty in breathing.

Consequently, the first report of the Seoul District Office was false. The office reported that its agents did not beat Cho, and let Cho sleep from 6:30 a.m. to the noon on Oct. 26th. Therefore, all the officers and prosecutors in the chain of command with regard to Cho`s case are expected to face disciplinary actions.

Based on these findings, the IID deems prosecutor Hong as a co-conspirator and accomplice in the homicide case with the three agents who have already got imprisoned. Thus, it has filed for the arrest warrant on Hong with the court on Nov. 6th.

But, in the arraignment held at the courtroom 319 of the Seoul District Court, he made a categorical denial of all the charges against him and said, "I did not know of the beating and torturing of Cho by the law enforcement agents."

The IID`s motion for the warrant, however, specifically provides that prosecutor Hong eye-witnessed Cho sitting on his knees when Hong visited the interrogation room sometime between 6 – 7 am on Oct. 26th, and knowingly did not take any actions to relieve the worsened medical conditions of Cho, which were caused by the torturing of the officers.

In addition, it has become known that late Cho got passed out from time to time during the interrogation, which started at 9 p.m. on Oct. 25th, and lasted for 11 hours. Thus, it is suspected that the Seoul District Office tried to cover up the case by reporting, right after Cho`s death, that the officers just had him sit on his knees without any assault or battery.

In the meanwhile, the IID plans to bring in one or two more investigators of the Seoul District Office for questioning, who are suspected of jointly beating Cho, along with Hong and his three accomplices behind bars. And, if found true, the IID will file formal charges against them.

The final conclusion of the IID in this case will be announced as early as Friday, and the Justice Ministry and the Office of Attorney General will begin the disciplinary hearings for the all the prosecutors and chief prosecutors who were in the chain of command.

Wi-Yong Jung Jin-Kyun Kil viyonz@donga.com leon@donga.com