Prosecutors, 'luxury bags' Kim Gun-hee and Choi Jae-young are all not prosecuted.

[Anchor]
The prosecution, which has been investigating allegations of receiving luxury bags by First Lady Kim Gun-hee, has decided not to indict all officials, including First Lady Kim and Pastor Choi Jae-young.

The conclusion was made five months after former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok ordered the formation of a dedicated investigation team.

I'm connecting with the reporter, reporter Kim Cheol-hee!

[Reporter]
Yes, this is the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

[Anchor]
The prosecution cleared all those involved in the case.

[Reporter]
Yes, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 1 indicted all five officials, including President Yoon Suk Yeol, First Lady Kim Gun-hee, Pastor Choi Jae-young, and Seoul Sound CEO Baek Eun-jong, in connection with the luxury bag case.

The investigation team first decided that they could not charge President Yoon and his wife with violating the anti-graft law.

Although the Solicitation Prohibition Act prohibits spouses of public officials from receiving money and goods related to their duties,
There is no separate punishment regulation for
, so Mrs. Kim cannot be punished.

In addition, I saw that the gift that Mrs. Kim received was used to maintain friendly relations or to obtain an interview opportunity, but had nothing to do with her duties as president.

The prosecution believes that since the spouse has not received any work-related items, the president, who is not obligated to report, cannot be held accountable.

In the case of bribery, Kim was cleared of charges, saying that since she is not a public servant, she cannot be the subject alone, and there is no evidence to believe that she colluded with the president.

It was judged that there were no charges against the rest of the mediation, violation of the Lawyers Act, destruction of evidence, and abuse of authority.

[Anchor]
In the case of Pastor Choi Jae-young, the Investigation and Deliberation Committee recommended prosecution, but again, he was not prosecuted.

[Reporter]
Yes, so far, the prosecution has been reviewing whether Pastor Choi can be charged with violating the anti-graft law, invading houses, and obstructing the execution of public affairs.

However, as explained earlier, Pastor Choi's handing over a luxury bag is not related to the president's duties, so it was judged that there was no violation of the anti-graft law.

In addition, since I met Ms. Kim by coordinating the schedule in advance, I concluded that there was no crime of home invasion.

He was also cleared of obstruction of public affairs, saying that the failure to filter out Pastor Choi's "secret camera" was due to insufficient inspection.

In addition to this, all officials were cleared of the charges, judging that the disclosure of the scene of receiving a luxury bag was not illegal as it was an act for the public interest.

This conclusion is different from the recommendation of Pastor Choi's Investigation Review Committee to indict Pastor Choi on charges of violating the anti-graft law.

Conscious of the controversy, the Central District Prosecutors' Office reviewed whether criminal responsibility could be held according to evidence and legal principles without any other consideration,
It was explained that all the
investigation team concluded with a consensus.

So far, at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, I'm Kim Chul-hee of YTN.