Ex-special inspector Kim questioned
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Kim Tae-woo, a former special inspector at Cheong Wa Dae, answers the press’s questions upon his arrival at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul, Thursday, to undergo questioning as a witness about the presidential office’s alleged surveillance on citizens. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon
By Kim Jae-heun
Kim Tae-woo, a former Cheong Wa Dae special inspector from the prosecution, was summoned, Thursday, to be questioned as a witness of the presidential office's alleged civilian surveillance.
It is the first time for Kim to appear at the prosecution, following the main opposition Liberty Korea Party's (LKP) complaint against top Cheong Wa Dae officials for alleged abuse of power and dereliction of duty.
“For the past 16 years, I have dedicated myself to the government service and thought it was a virtue to work hard on orders given from the top. I did the same while I was working at Cheong Wa Dae as a special inspector,” Kim told the press upon his arrival at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in eastern Seoul.
“However, I came to think it was wrong for Cheong Wa Dae to forcibly seize and inspect public officials' mobile phones and even infringe on their privacy when it did not find what it wanted. However, it overlooked the irregularities of aides close to the administration, which I reported,” he said.
While Cheong Wa Dae accused Kim of leaking confidential information, Kim pointed out that Park Hyeong-chul, the presidential anti-corruption secretary and his former boss, is the one who leaked classified information, not him.
“When I reported the alleged corruption of a prosecutor, Park found out it was his high school alumnus and called him to let him know about my inspection. This is an act of leaking classified information. I don't understand how I am being accused of such a charge,” Kim said. “I expect the whole truth about the presidential office's criminal acts to be revealed today.”
When Kim appeared at the prosecutors' office, some members of a conservative civic group held a rally to support him, holding signs that read “Justice wins.”
Kim was dispatched to Cheong Wa Dae in July 2017 and investigated public servants for corruption and reported them to his direct boss Park until last November. They worked under the supervision of senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Cho Kuk.
Upon his return to the prosecution from the presidential office, Kim claimed in an interview with local press that he reported the alleged graft of Woo Yoon-keun, the Korean ambassador to Russia, a close aide to President Moon Jae-in, and that was why he was removed from Cheong Wa Dae.
He also alleged that Cheong Wa Dae spied on citizens including son of former Prime Minister Goh Kun and a president of a commercial bank. Kim claimed that he wrote the report himself about the surveillance.
Cheong Wa Dae denied all the allegations and filed a complaint with the prosecution against Kim on Dec. 19 for disclosing classified information. The next day, the LKP filed a complaint against presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, Cho, Park and another boss of Kim, for abuse of power.
Im and Cho attended at the National Assembly's steering committee session on Monday and disputed the claims of alleged surveillance of citizens.