SEOUL– Prosecutors questioned former Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Friday as part of an investigation into allegations that while in office, he forced the head of a ministry-affiliated foundation to resign during the previous administration.
Cho is suspected of forcing Sohn kwang-ju, a former chief of the Korea Hana Foundation, to step down in 2017, even though about a year was left in his term. The foundation was formerly known as the North Korean Refugees Foundation.
The questioning came as an investigation expanded into what is dubbed the “blacklist scandal” that centers on allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration forced the resignation of heads of several state agencies who were appointed under the preceding Park Geun-hye government.
Earlier, prosecutors also investigated former Industry Minister Paik Un-gyu over allegations that he forced the heads of 13 energy-related state firms to step down. Paik was the Moon administration’s first minister of trade, industry and energy.
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