Anchor: The justice ministry has decided to launch a special counsel probe into a set of missing banknote straps — key evidence that prosecutors claim to have lost while investigating a controversial shaman with alleged ties to former first lady Kim Keon-hee. The decision came in the wake of internal investigations by the prosecution, which found no signs of any deliberate attempt to destroy evidence.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: ​Last year while investigating Geon Jin, a shaman with alleged ties to former first lady Kim Keon-hee, prosecutors seized a stash of cash from his residence — 50 million won in fresh bills still wrapped in Bank of Korea straps.

But when the prosecution transferred its files on the shaman to the independent counsel team investigating the former first lady, there were no signs of the central bank straps marked with information that could be used to trace the origin of the cash.

The justice ministry called for an explanation, but the prosecution recently said its internal probe found no indications that anyone deliberately destroyed evidence. 

Upon leaving his office Friday evening, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho said the situation calls for a third-party probe and suggested the prosecution is protecting “its own family.”

[Sound bite: Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho (Korean-English)]
“Overall, many statements have been obtained from those involved and the evidence has been examined. However, since the subject of this investigation is the prosecution, there’s inevitably an element of protecting one’s own family. Isn’t it difficult to shake off such suspicions?
…
“Although I’ve ordered a through investigation by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, I believe it’s woefully inadequate to dispel public suspicions. Therefore, to fully dispel public suspicions, I believe it would be best for a permanent special prosecutor to conduct the investigation from an objective, third-party perspective. That’s why I’ve made this request.”

While the ruling camp suspects the key evidence was destroyed to protect those connected to the controversial shaman, the prosecutors and investigators who initially seized the cash said it was an honest mistake. 

The shaman, whose legal name is Jeon Seong-bae, is at the center of a corruption scandal involving allegations of influence peddling and bribery.

Suspected of serving as an intermediary in a bribery case, the shaman admitted last week that he delivered luxury handbags and jewelry to the former first lady’s aide.

Legislation from the National Assembly is required to launch a full-scale special counsel probe, but the justice minister can invoke an existing statute and launch a briefer two-month probe with up to five prosecutors.  
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.