Anchor: The Supreme Prosecutors' Office(SPO) has begun a review of perjury allegations regarding the 2011 bribery trial that sentenced former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook to two years in prison. The outcome of the review is drawing much attention considering the political sensitivity of the case.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: Some dozen senior prosecutors, led by acting Prosecutor General Cho Nam-kwan, convened on Friday to reexamine allegations of false testimony in a bribery case involving former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook.

The meeting comes after Justice Minister Park Beom-kye on Wednesday exercised his command authority and ordered the Supreme Prosecutors' Office(SPO) to review the case for any "unreasonable decision-making."

Last year, allegations had surfaced that prosecutors forced late businessman Han Man-ho's fellow inmates to give false testimony about the former prime minister during her trial in 2011 in order to win a conviction.

Prosecutors had earlier dismissed the perjury charges and the statute of limitations for the case is set to expire on Monday.

The ex-prime minister, who served a two-year jail term for accepting illicit political funds from the late businessman while in office from 2006 to 2007, has long claimed her innocence, denying she ever received the money.

Supporters of the liberal ruling Democratic Party(DP) believe that Han was suppressed by the conservative government of Lee Myung-bak.

Considering the amount of relevant documents and the political sensitivity of the case, the closed-door review may well continue throughout the weekend.

Meanwhile, there's growing dissent within the prosecution against the minister's call for the SPO's review, with prosecutors writing in their internal network that the review should be televised to guarantee fairness and neutrality.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.