It started because of the video.

A video of a middle-aged man in a high-ranking office trying to have sex with a young woman.

The visual destructive power was great.

However, the middle-aged man was not punished.

The prosecution did not even call the man'Kim Hak-e'.

The end of the innocence referred to as the'male of the Buddha'.

In the video, even the victim claimed that the woman was herself, but the conclusion did not change.

Anyone looked at it as the prosecution's cover of my family.



So it was.

It was natural that the case of Kim Hak's former vice minister (hereinafter referred to as Hak Kim's case) rose to the subject of a re-examination by the Prosecutors' Past History Committee, which was launched with the aim of correcting the prosecution's mistakes.

'The prosecution in the video dismissed the charges even though the man was Kim Hak-ui', and'a high-ranking public official who exploited women as sexual instruments'.

Citizens expected that our society's impoverishment could only be cleared up this time.

It was late, but I hoped that justice could stand right away.


An inconvenient truth that conflicts with the public's perspective

The conclusion of the review seemed too obvious.

However, reporters on the scene often faced uncomfortable truths as they became aware of the incident.

They encountered facts that conflict with the dominant views of the public.

I learned that the criticism that'the man in the video is Hak-ui Kim, and he ended innocent' could be anger toward the wrong target.

The police, who investigated enthusiastically, also belatedly found out that they could not find any crime charges directly related to the video.

It was also learned that the reason for the prosecution's innocence was that it was not able to specify the'woman in the video' rather than the'male in the video'.



<Reference>


[Reporting File] Former Vice Minister Kim Hak-eui suspicion, video, and accurate anger


[Reporting File] Kim Hak-eui · Jang Ja-yeon-What the public wants and for the public



However, it was not easy to convey the contents of the report as it is.

It was easy to comply with public opinion, but it was not easy to go against public opinion.

Apart from whether the allegations were directly linked, there was also a concern that the video content alone would appear to be advocating Kim Hak-ei, who is obviously inappropriate.

So, most of the media took the easy way.

There was a media outlet that highlighted'the prosecution who handled allegations even though the man in the video was Kim Hak-ui', and said that it had secured a high-quality video version.


Questions and public opinion on the victim woman's statement

However, the uncomfortable truth about the video was not directly related to the true nature of the case. The destructive power of the video was decisive for the people's sympathy with the'Kim Hak's Incident', but'sexual exploitation' of the unpunished power and further'sexual violence' were at the root. However, the information encountered during the interview raised questions about the essential concept of the case. The existence of a transcription of the victims' currency, which seems to suggest prostitution, the early incidents in which the financial problems resulting from the government were accused of sexual violence and adultery, and the actions of victims that are hard to find in other victims of sexual violence. These types of information made me wonder if it would be possible to define Kim Hak's case according to the public eye of'male power as a unilateral perpetrator versus a woman as a unilateral victim'.



It was a time when'sex perception sensitivity' was emphasized. It was cautious whether the judgment that'it is different from the appearance of other victims of sexual violence' might be a violent view that compels'victim-likeness'. Given that sexual violence between couples is recognized, it was also thought that even if the case was defined as a prostitution or sexually entertaining case in general, a specific case that occurred at a specific point in time could be defined as a sexual violence case. I wondered if women were sexually enslaved in a state of total psychological repression and subordination.



Because of these concerns, reporters on the field discussed their views when they shared their thoughts with each other, and reviewed their perspectives by rereading the verdict several times emphasizing'sex perception sensibilities'.

However, Kim Hak's case was very different from other sexual violence cases.

From time to time, articles about the limitations or problems of the victim woman's statements came out, but it was only a typhoon in the teacup.

There was a narrow space for a reasonable question amid the righteous slogan that'we must condemn those in power who have sexually exploited women' and'we must withdraw from the prosecution's practice of covering my family'.

It was easily dismissed as an advocate for the perpetrator.



The investigation team's concerns contained in the final report, but...

In the final report of the great prosecution fact-finding team recently obtained by SBS, there are concerns about looking at'Kim Hak's case'.

The question of how far to trust the victim's statement, how to define the case, and how to look at the case of sexual violence is far more than half of the 1,200-page final report.

Although it was an investigation team that had been questioned several times in terms of the rigor and objectivity of the investigation, the concerns of the investigators about the'Kim Hak's case' could be fully guessed.

It's an uncomfortable truth, but if the debate came out of the world, it could make our society more mature.



But that didn't happen.

The incident went in an unexpected direction.

The incident triggered by the video, namely, the sexual violence case, was the main issue, but on March 25, 2019, the Prosecutors' Past Deputy Committee on charges of bribery from former Vice Minister Kim Hak-do, and the former Blue House Civil Service Chief Kwak Sang-do and former Blue House Civil Service Secretary Lee Joong-hee interfered with the exercise of abuse of authority He recommended the prosecution to investigate the allegations.

There was no judgment on the part of sexual violence that can be said to be the origin of the case.

The great prosecutors' fact-finding team, who was in charge of the investigation, also recommended an investigation on the'innocent charges' against the woman who was once known as Yoon Joong-cheon and Yoon Joong-cheon's inner sister, but did not accept the past son-in-law with the authority to make decisions.


Questions and assumptions raised in the investigation recommendations of the past son-in-law

About the announcement of the past son-in-law, some questions and assumptions have been raised in the legal community.

The announcement of the past son-in-law was only a week after President Moon Jae-in's public order to'investigate with the fortune'.

It can be easily deduced that the'investigation with a fate' is'covering my family by the prosecution', but the recommendation to investigate'the alleged innocent of a victim woman' could conflict with'covering my family'.

There is a possibility that the prosecution's innocent treatment of sexual violence charges in the past could be interpreted as justified, and the cause of the reinvestigation itself could be shaken.

Therefore, it was questioned whether the past son-in-law politically judged the case and recommended investigating only matters other than those related to sexual violence.



The range of persons recommended for investigation of abuse of authority amplified this political suspicion.

In the legal profession, criticism has been raised that it is difficult to understand why the former Cheong Wa Dae public service secretary, Cho Eung-cheon, who was in charge of verifying Kim Hak's former vice-minister (the Democratic Party member at the time of the investigation recommendation), was omitted.

It is because former public service secretary Cho Eung-cheon was the one who was most interested in the existence and content of the video in question while in charge of verifying the personnel of Hak Hak Kim's former vice minister.

Some speculated that it was deliberately included only opposition lawmakers in the investigation recommendation for the next general election, and it was even estimated that it was aimed at former Prime Minister Hwang Gyo-an, who was the Minister of Justice at the time of Kim Hak's appointment as well as the opposition leader at the time of the investigation recommendation. .


'Without political and policy considerations' contained in the press release


This suspicion was also self-initiated by the prosecution's past son-in-law.

On March 25, 2019, an unusual phrase was included in the press release of the prosecution's past son-in-law.

'The (past history) committee and fact-finding team are feeling heavy responsibility (for finding out the facts of Kim Hak's case), so they will pursue the truth of the case without any political or policy considerations.

If you don't ask, but answer, it means you expected the question to come up.

Wasn't the past sons and daughters aware that their recommendations for investigation could be'political' or could be interpreted as'political considerations' of building a justification for the establishment of an airlift.



This part will be examined in earnest in the subsequent report file, and here, let's look at only one section that is suspicious of politics.

According to the contents of the group chat room of the members of the SBS-secured Great Examination fact-finding team, an investigating team member who is known to have led the investigation process reveals the reason why Cho Eung-cheon, former public service secretary, was not included in the investigation recommendations.


'In fact, in relation to civil affairs, verification of insolvent personnel and enforcement of appointment is the key, but when I asked Eung-cheon Jo to investigate, I only put Kwak Sang-do in what the Democratic Party would say'


The investigator who left this message said,

'The Democratic Party's rebellion is (just)','Cho Eung-cheon' 'The crime facts are not written out',

he stepped back.

At the same time, after the announcement of the investigation recommendation by the past

son-in-law

, he left a message

saying,'

I

will be burdened with a lot of innocence later

.'

They admitted that they had taken political considerations when deciding who to be recommended for investigation of abuse of authority, and recognized that the fact that the allegation of innocence was omitted from the investigation recommendation would inevitably be interpreted politically.



Investigation recommendation with the desired answer...

Prosecutors who didn't just follow

The prosecution was embarrassed after receiving the recommendation for the investigation. In addition to the president's instructions, the public anger has increased because of Kim Hak's former vice-minister, who attempted to leave the country. There was also a hoped answer. It was also a situation that could raise criticism that if the investigation was successful, the case was covered in the past, and that if the investigation did not succeed, the prosecution would also cover my family. Regardless of the results of the investigation, no one came out to take charge of the investigation because the prosecution provided the cause for reform by the prosecutors themselves.



In the end, the head of the prosecution investigation team to investigate the case was selected as the chief prosecutor of the prosecution at the time of Yeo Hwan-seop, who was regarded as one of the best special cases in the prosecution. Regardless of the outcome, the evaluation that the prosecutor general's intention was reflected was predominantly in the evaluation that Moon Moo-il had to make the results of the investigation. However, the prosecution prosecuted former Vice Minister Kim for a separate investigation against Kim Hak's former Vice Minister, but did not fully follow the hoped answer. No, they even denied the premise of the problem.



The most basic basis for the investigation recommendations to former chief civil service officer Kwak Sang-do and former civil administration secretary Lee Joong-hee was the statement of an investigative team by a former Blue House worker. However, the prosecution's investigation

team stated in the

press release as a result of the investigation that the worker said

that'the investigation team has never made a statement to that effect'

. It was officially stated that the contents of the currently controversial'Park Kwan-cheon Interview Report' were written with a different purpose than the statement of the commentator, and he criticized that the past son-in-law's investigation recommendation was wrong.

The prosecution's past son-in-law called for an investigation, saying that certain prosecution officials had a suspicion of collusion with the construction contractor Yoon Joong-cheon, but the prosecutors' investigation team announced that they could not even find a clue to initiate the investigation.

In light of the recommendations of the past son-in-law's investigation, the conclusion was futile.

While limited public resources were devoted to Kim Hak's case for this conclusion, some may have suffered.



The prosecution has a myth related to the personnel of the prosecutor.

The closer it is to Seoul, the more important it is.

When he followed these myths, Prosecutor Hwan-seop Yeo, who did not follow the hoped answer, became increasingly distant from his role.

The physical distance from Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office to Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, back to Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, and Seoul became increasingly distant.

In response to this, a person in the legal profession has said that it is the result of not complying with the demands of the government.


'Departure Prohibition Inquiry' Case That Didn't Get Notice

Meanwhile, when the prosecution was investigating the case targeted for the investigation by the past son-in-law, an unexpected case popped up.

In the early morning of March 23, 2019, an investigation of a public interest judge who was accused of searching for a ban on departure from former Vice Minister Kim Hak's before the emergency ban on departure was initiated at the Suwon District Prosecutor's Office.

At the time, the investigation began with an investigation request following the self-inspection of the Ministry of Justice.



However, the investigation result of this seemingly simple case did not come out quickly.

There were not many people paying attention to the Anyang District case because the so-called Kim Hak investigation team and the fact-finding team's re-investigation of the late Jang Ja-yeon case was taken away.

Although it was only known recently, the Anyang branch at the time conducted an investigation on the legality of the emergency ban on departure for former vice ministers of Kim Hak, as well as inquiries on whether public interest judges were prohibited from leaving the country.

In a way, it was a natural procedure, but not many people felt the need for an investigation at the time.

Public opinion prevailed over the realization of justice that prevented Kim Hak's former vice minister from fleeing abroad in any way.



Re-examination for re-examination...

What we missed

April 2021, two years later. Kim Hak's case was summoned again to the Prosecutors' Office. Unlike the past, the only difference is that the'process' of re-incidentifying the case, not the case itself, is the subject of investigation. As I feared two years ago, it has become a situation where a re-examination is being conducted. In order to realize a just slogan, the process must be justified, and the content must have a logical basis and rigor, but that part was intentionally omitted or misleading. What did we miss two years ago and what did we not learn? Why has the past son-in-law's re-examination turned into a situation where it was re-examined? SBS is planning to examine what we missed, the role of the media and experts, and what our society should be concerned about in Kim Hak's case, based on the final report of the Great Checkup Fact-Investigation Team recently obtained.