Ex-official: Pres. office knew of destruction of evidence

Ex-official: Pres. office knew of destruction of evidence. March. 28, 2012 05:46. jks@donga.com verso@donga.com.

A former official of the Prime Minister`s Office on Tuesday said the process of a trial on destruction of evidence and his re-employment were reported to President Lee Myung-bak.

Prosecutors have reopened an investigation into the presidential office for allegedly ordering a cover-up of illegal surveillance of a businessman who criticized President Lee.

Jang Jin-su, former assistant director of the public ethics division of the Prime Minister’s Office who was convicted of destroying evidence, had claimed that the presidential office ordered the destruction of evidence of illegal inspection of civilians conducted by Jang`s office.

In the podcast “A Man Dusting off an Issue” on Tuesday, Jang said, “Mr. Jeong, a former director of the public ethics division of the Prime Minister’s Office, showed me a thumb at a cafe behind the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, and said my re-employment had just been reported to the VIP.”

The podcast moderator asked, “Did the VIP refer to the president?” to which Jang answered, “Yes,” adding, “We had this conversation when I said Choi Jong-seok, former director of the labor employment office at the presidential office, ordered evidence destroyed at the Central Disciplinary Committee in January last year.”

"I understood that my issue was reported to the president in some form. I thought that seven people who are on trial due to the case would be taken care of, and the one who would take care of me was Jang Seok-myeong, secretary to the president for public office discipline (of the Office of the Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs).”

Korea Gas Safety Corp. and Kyung Dong Navien were mentioned as companies that could have hired Jang. A phone call saying the west branch of the Seoul Regional Labor Administration would help Jang and his wife find jobs was also disclosed.

Jang did not directly say, however, if the Office of Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs reported his status to the president and how it did. If what he claimed is confirmed by prosecutors, the presidential office would have known the entire process of the destruction of evidence.

Prosecutors say, however, that the presidential office`s confirmation of information on the public investigation and trials is a natural course of the probe.

Jang also claimed that former director Jin took away the laptop that was not confiscated in the raid on the Prime Minister’s Office in July 2010. An independent counsel said Jin was subpoenaed but never responded.