Prosecution slaps travel ban on four officials

By Kang Shin-who

Staff reporter

The prosecution banned Lee In-kyu and three other officials from the Office of the Prime Minister, who are being investigated for having conducted unlawful surveillance on a citizen who posted an anti-government video clip on his blog, from travelling abroad Tuesday.

Prosecutors will summon the four for questioning early this week.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has launched a special investigation team to probe the illegal surveillance of Kim Jong-ik, a former small business owner who claims his life was ruined by their actions.

The prosecution is accelerating its probe into the high-profile case that is adding to the political burdens on Cheong Wa Dae and the governing Grand National Party ahead of the July 28 National Assembly by-elections.

The investigation will focus on who or which organization orchestrated the illegal investigation of Kim, who is allegedly a member of "Rohsamo," a support group for the late President Roh Moo-hyun.

At the same time, the prosecution is expected to focus on why the ethics division of the premier's office, which is only tasked to look into civil service corruption, investigated the businessman.

The prosecution's move came after President Lee Myung-bak instructed the authorities to conduct a thorough probe of the scandal.

While the Lee administration seeks to wrap up the case as early as possible before the by-elections, the main opposition Democratic Party is intensifying its criticism of the government, demanding an Assembly hearing and investigation of the scandal.

The prosecutors' special team, headed by chief prosecutor Oh Jeong-don, will question all people related with the scandal including the victim.

"We will probe the case more thoroughly and rapidly with the special team in order to dispel any suspicions," said a prosecution official.

Prosecutors have made it clear that they will look into whether the officials abused their power and interfered in the individual's business, based on documents from the premier's office.

According to Kim, the officials ransacked his company to confiscate financial records and forced KB Bank, his key creditor, to discontinue doing business deals with his firm. Kim eventually lost the presidency of the company and had to transfer all of his shares in the company to others.

Appearing in a recent edition of MBC TV program "PD Notebook," Kim said his life has been severely damaged due to the surveillance by government officials for his posting of the video clip criticizing the Lee administration for importing American beef, and the four river restoration project. The clip was originally made by a Korean student studying in the United States in 2008.

불법사찰 수사, 총리실 4명 출국금지

검찰이 국무총리실 민간인 불법사찰 의혹과 관련 이인규 전 공직 윤리지원관등 3명을 출국금지하며 수사에 박차를 가하고 있다.

이 전 지원관 등은 2008년 블로그에 이명박 대통령을 비난하는 동영상을 올린 중소기업 대표 김종익(56)씨를 상대로 회사의 회계자료를 임의로 제출 받고 불법으로 이메일을 열람한 혐의를 받고 있다.

김 전 대표는 최근 MBC PD수첩에 출연해 총리실의 불법사찰로 인해 명예훼손 혐의로 기소유예 처분을 받는 과정에서 피해를 입었다고 밝혔다.

이에 관련 이 대통령은 이 사건을 철저히 조사해 "위법 사실이 드러날 경우 엄중하게 문책하라”고 지시했다.