The prosecution plans to question a government official alleged to have requested a Cheong Wa Dae official to track down personal information of a boy suspected to be the illegitimate son of former prosecution chief Chae Dong-wook.

The official at the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, identified only by his surname Kim, is said to have asked Cho Oh-young, an administrative official at the president’s office, to check on the boy’s home address and family registration in June.

He denied all allegations and demanded that the prosecution interrogate him in the presence of Cho.

Cheong Wa Dae also announced last week that the presidential staffer went after the boy’s information upon Kim’s request. Cho reportedly asked an official at Seocho-gu Office in southern Seoul to illegally access the boy’s personal information, the presidential office said.

Shortly after Cheong Wa Dae’s announcement last week, the prosecution raided Kim’s residence and office. Investigators have reportedly confiscated his cellphone as well but have not found anything incriminating yet, according to the report.

A Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said that this case is strictly personal, denying allegations that the presidential office may have known about Chae’s alleged extramarital affairs some months before the scandal broke out in September, following a news report in a news daily. It also denied playing a behind-the-scenes part in pressuring the then prosecutor to resign.

Chae spearheaded an investigation into alleged election meddling by state agencies during last year’s presidential election.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)