SEOUL– Prosecutors questioned former ICT Minister You Young-min on Friday as part of an investigation into allegations that while in office, he forced the head of a ministry-affiliated institution to resign.
The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office summoned You on suspicion of forcing Lim Ki-chul, a former chief of the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), to step down in 2017, even though about two years were left in Lim’s term.
You was the preceding Moon Jae-in administration’s first minister of science and ICT from 2017 to 2019.
The questioning came as an investigation expanded into what is dubbed the “blacklist scandal” that centers on allegations that the Moon administration forced the resignation of heads of several state agencies who were appointed under the preceding Park Geun-hye government.
Earlier, prosecutors raided the Ministry of Science and ICT in Sejong and two state institutions under the ministry, including the KISTEP headquarters.
The then-main opposition Liberty Korea Party, a predecessor of the now ruling People Power Party, lodged a criminal complaint against former ranking officials and several former ministers.
Source: Yonhap News Agency