The lawyer representing a Yangpyeong County official who died after questioning by the special counsel investigating former first lady Kim Keon-hee said Tuesday he will file charges against the investigation team for abuse of authority and fabrication of official documents.
 
Attorney Park Kyung-ho held a press conference in front of a memorial altar set up near KT Gwanghwamun Building, saying he plans to review the interrogation records before formally accusing investigators of unlawful conduct, coercion and falsification.
 
Park claimed the official had told him before his death that his interrogation record included statements he never made, such as admissions about instructions from then-Yangpyeong County Mayor Kim Seon-kyo, a People Power Party lawmaker.

He argued that investigators effectively pressured the official to testify that he had colluded with Kim to grant an illegal exemption of development charges to a company linked to the former first lady’s family.

Park added that the handwritten note found after the official’s death was written without legal counsel and that he would submit the original document to investigators if necessary.

The official, who had been summoned as a suspect in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District development case, was found dead at his home on Friday, prompting the special counsel team to announce a review of its investigation procedures to determine whether any human rights violations or coercive practices had occurred.