In connection with Kim Hak-eui and allegations of his sexual misconduct, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon (57, photo) said, "I submitted a report after screening potential candidates for presidential appointments (stating the possible existence of a video of Kim Hak-eui, former vice minister of justice) in March 2013, but I heard that the president (Park Geun-hye) said, 'He (Kim) says it's not him. Why do you keep mentioning something that's not true?'" Cho also said, “There was also a response from the Cheong Wa Dae main office, the presidential office, claiming ‘Cho Eung-cheon is making false accusations about Kim Hak-eui with lies.’” Cho served as the first secretary of public office discipline in the Office of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs in Park Geun-hye's Cheong Wa Dae and oversaw the screening of senior public officials and inspection of any possible corruption.

In an interview with the Kyunghyang Shinmunon March 25, Cho said, "I remember writing something like 'There are rumors about Kim Hak-eui. If they are true, it can put a huge burden on the government,' when writing the report." He further said, "I tried to see if there was something between the president (Park Geun-hye) and Kim Hak-eui (former vice minister) and heard that Kim's father and (former president) Park Chung-hee were close. So I thought, 'Oh, so that's why.'"

According to the lawmaker, Cheong Wa Dae appointed Kim as vice minister, aware of the possibility of Kim's involvement in sexual crimes. Demand for an investigation on the backdrop of Kim's appointment as well as on the alleged pressure from Cheong Wa Dae on the police investigation is expected to grow. As for the details of the report, lawmaker Cho said, "There was no mention of a villa, but it was based on a tip that there was a sex video and that the police were investigating the case."

However, the lawmaker denied any pressure from Cheong Wa Dae, which some involved in the police investigation at the time have raised. Cho said, "At the time, I told the person in charge of the police investigation, 'I am here to screen people; I am not a prosecutor. If it turns out to be true later, it can put a tremendous political burden on the president. There can be no talk about an investigation, even in the future,' and I got the response, 'Of course. There will be no such thing.'"

Meanwhile, this day, the committee on past investigations by the Prosecution Service in the Ministry of Justice held a meeting at the government office in Gwacheon and recommended the Prosecution Service investigate bribery allegations against former vice minister Kim and allegations of abuse of authority and interference of the exercise of rights by Liberty Korea Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, who was the Cheong Wa Dae senior secretary for civil affairs at the time. The investigation team secured a statement that Kim received money and entertainment amounting to tens of millions of won from Yoon Jung-Cheon, a contractor, from 2005 to 2012 and acknowledged suspicions of bribery. The investigation team also recognized suspicions of misfeasance by Kwak Sang-do, Cheong Wa Dae senior secretary for civil affairs and Yi Jung-hui, secretary for civil affairs at the time, when Kim was appointed vice minister of justice while serving as the chief of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office in 2013. The committee plans to recommend additional investigations when they secure more evidence on the sexual crime allegations against Kim. The Prosecutors' Office is expected to gather a special team for the investigation.