Lee Sung-yoon, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, has denied suspending a past investigation into the Justice Ministry's alleged violation in issuing a travel ban on former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui in 2019.

According to a statement from the whistleblower on the case, the Anyang branch of the Suwon district office was forced to suspend its investigation at the time by the anti-corruption unit at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office(SPO).

In a statement submitted to the Suwon office, which is reinvestigating the case, on Friday, Lee, who was the then-head of the anti-corruption unit, said he never had direct contact with anyone involved in the previous probe.

Lee added that there was no required approval from the SPO regarding the Anyang branch investigation and that the outcome was reported to the SPO in July 2019 in accordance with routine procedures.