By Kim Da-ye and Chung Hyun-chae
The prosecution arrested Gabriel Oh, brother-in-law of fugitive Yoo Byung-eun, and his wife Friday to quiz them about the whereabouts of Yoo and his eldest son Dae-gyun.
Oh, former Korean Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2013, has been suspected of allegedly helping the owner of the sunken ferry Sewol obtain political asylum from foreign embassies in Seoul.
"We took Oh and his wife into custody to question them about Yoo's escape from the law," said a prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office.
The career diplomat, who built an extensive human network overseas over the past 35 years, is currently under review by the foreign ministry's disciplinary committee for allegations that he abused his authority to help Yoo hold a photo exhibition in France and other European countries.
The prosecution suspects Oh contacted the French Embassy and other embassies here on behalf of the former Semo Group Chairman. But the embassies reportedly rejected the request, saying Yoo is a mere criminal suspect.
In addition, the prosecution has reportedly secured circumstantial evidence that Oh and his wife have contacted followers of the Salvation Sector, who are also wanted by the law enforcement authorities for helping Yoo avoid the police.
They are suspected of ordering Yoo's close aides, who are yet to be arrested, to help him evade the prosecution, after Yoo's main followers at the religious cult, including "Mother Kim" and "Mother Shin," were arrested last week.
The latest arrest was widely expected as investigators have indicated that people aiding the fugitive would be strictly subject to prosecution in accordance with the laws.
In the meantime, a document about the prosecution's search-and-seizure plan during its May 21 raid of Geumsuwon, the stronghold of the Salvation Sect, has been obtained by the cult followers, it was revealed Thursday.
The document contains information about the team in charge of executing the search-and-seizure warrant at Geumsuwon in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.
It includes the names of investigators, the way they were organized, the timeline and areas to search, as well as the names and phone numbers of the commanding prosecutors.
It is not known how the Salvation Sect obtained the document.
The prosecution denied that the document was intentionally leaked, and said that they assume someone in the team accidently lost a copy during the raid and a cult follower picked it. The prosecution argued that it contained no confidential information.
However, an unnamed Salvation Sect follower said in an interview with the Korea Broadcasting System that one of the investigators gave him a copy for "reference purposes."
Yoo Byung-eun and his eldest son, Yoo Dae-gyun, still remain at large despite 600 million ($590,000) won in reward money being offered by the prosecution for tips leading to their arrests.
Skeptics raised suspicions that members of the prosecution could be associated with Yoo and leaked key information about the manhunt for the fugitive, considering Yoo has managed to escape from his hideouts during his time as a fugitive, including a house in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, before raids.
Explaining why the prosecution has had difficulties arresting Yoo, Hwang Kyo-ahn, minister of justice, told lawmakers during a National Assembly hearing on June 18 that the authority tried to arrest him with a warrant immediately after his corruption was detected, but some information about the investigation is believed to have been leaked to Yoo beforehand.
The Ministry of Justice later explained Hwang actually meant that those who had been questioned before the prosecution decided to arrest Yoo — not members of the prosecution — could have passed information to Yoo.
On May 21, some 80 prosecutors and investigators from the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office made their way into Geumsuwon with warrants to search the compound.
Unlike what was expected, there were no clashes with the hundreds of his followers present. The sect members peacefully allowed prosecutors and investigators to move in after the prosecution accepted their demand for clarification that there were no links between the sect and a mass suicide in 1987, known as the "Odaeyang incident."
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| Gabriel Oh |
Oh, former Korean Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2013, has been suspected of allegedly helping the owner of the sunken ferry Sewol obtain political asylum from foreign embassies in Seoul.
"We took Oh and his wife into custody to question them about Yoo's escape from the law," said a prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office.
The career diplomat, who built an extensive human network overseas over the past 35 years, is currently under review by the foreign ministry's disciplinary committee for allegations that he abused his authority to help Yoo hold a photo exhibition in France and other European countries.
The prosecution suspects Oh contacted the French Embassy and other embassies here on behalf of the former Semo Group Chairman. But the embassies reportedly rejected the request, saying Yoo is a mere criminal suspect.
In addition, the prosecution has reportedly secured circumstantial evidence that Oh and his wife have contacted followers of the Salvation Sector, who are also wanted by the law enforcement authorities for helping Yoo avoid the police.
They are suspected of ordering Yoo's close aides, who are yet to be arrested, to help him evade the prosecution, after Yoo's main followers at the religious cult, including "Mother Kim" and "Mother Shin," were arrested last week.
The latest arrest was widely expected as investigators have indicated that people aiding the fugitive would be strictly subject to prosecution in accordance with the laws.
In the meantime, a document about the prosecution's search-and-seizure plan during its May 21 raid of Geumsuwon, the stronghold of the Salvation Sect, has been obtained by the cult followers, it was revealed Thursday.
The document contains information about the team in charge of executing the search-and-seizure warrant at Geumsuwon in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.
It includes the names of investigators, the way they were organized, the timeline and areas to search, as well as the names and phone numbers of the commanding prosecutors.
It is not known how the Salvation Sect obtained the document.
The prosecution denied that the document was intentionally leaked, and said that they assume someone in the team accidently lost a copy during the raid and a cult follower picked it. The prosecution argued that it contained no confidential information.
However, an unnamed Salvation Sect follower said in an interview with the Korea Broadcasting System that one of the investigators gave him a copy for "reference purposes."
Yoo Byung-eun and his eldest son, Yoo Dae-gyun, still remain at large despite 600 million ($590,000) won in reward money being offered by the prosecution for tips leading to their arrests.
Skeptics raised suspicions that members of the prosecution could be associated with Yoo and leaked key information about the manhunt for the fugitive, considering Yoo has managed to escape from his hideouts during his time as a fugitive, including a house in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, before raids.
Explaining why the prosecution has had difficulties arresting Yoo, Hwang Kyo-ahn, minister of justice, told lawmakers during a National Assembly hearing on June 18 that the authority tried to arrest him with a warrant immediately after his corruption was detected, but some information about the investigation is believed to have been leaked to Yoo beforehand.
The Ministry of Justice later explained Hwang actually meant that those who had been questioned before the prosecution decided to arrest Yoo — not members of the prosecution — could have passed information to Yoo.
On May 21, some 80 prosecutors and investigators from the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office made their way into Geumsuwon with warrants to search the compound.
Unlike what was expected, there were no clashes with the hundreds of his followers present. The sect members peacefully allowed prosecutors and investigators to move in after the prosecution accepted their demand for clarification that there were no links between the sect and a mass suicide in 1987, known as the "Odaeyang incident."
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