Refutation of Established Facts Atmosphere in Indictment
"Expression Intended to Suggest Presidential Involvement"
"Criticism of Violation of the Principle of Legality in Indictment"
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Lawyers defending former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Baek Won-woo, former Senior Administrative Officer Jang Hwan-seok, and former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Han Byung-do, who were indicted on suspicion of election interference in Ulsan mayoral election and abuse of authority, strongly criticized, saying, "The prosecution's indictment is nothing more than the prosecution's subjective opinion." Amid controversy focused on the decision to withhold the indictment related to this matter, there seems to be an atmosphere where the contents of the indictment are being accepted as established facts, and it is understood that there is an intention to actively refute this.
The defense team of former Secretary Baek and others stated in a position paper delivered to the press corps on the morning of the 11th, "The indictment submitted by the prosecution is merely a subjective opinion that does not meet legal requirements," and added, "It is also questionable whether there is clear evidence to prove the facts alleged in the indictment." They also argued that this indictment violates the principle of indictment secrecy. The principle of indictment secrecy is a criminal procedure rule that prohibits attaching content to the indictment that could lead the court to prejudgment or preconceived notions. The defense team further pointed out, "The indictment contains many expressions intended to give the impression that the president was involved in election interference," and emphasized, "An indictment is not a political declaration." The prosecution mentioned the president 35 times in this indictment.
The defense team divided the prosecution's allegations into three main categories: abuse of authority, election pledges, and public office offers to primary candidates, and expressed their positions on each. Regarding abuse of authority, they said, "It is questionable what evidence can recognize a conspiracy relationship among the defendants, including former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyung-chul, former Ulsan Police Chief Hwang Un-ha, and Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho." They added, "In the case of former Chief Hwang, the indictment was filed without even hearing his defense, and it is unclear whether this is justifiable." They also denied all allegations related to election pledges for establishing a public hospital and the claim that former Secretary Han offered the Osaka Consul General position to former Democratic Party Supreme Council member Lim Dong-ho in exchange for not running.
At the end of the position paper, the defense team referred to the indictment again as the "prosecution's opinion paper," stating, "It is a serious problem for democratic public discourse that such an indictment is discussed as if it were the truth." They also said, "It is by no means desirable for this matter to proceed based on partisan logic for the sake of democracy," and emphasized, "Key figures who participated in the government established by the Candlelight Revolution never engaged in acts that distort election results."
Earlier, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun), which is investigating this case, indicted 13 people including former Secretary Baek on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act on the 29th of last month. However, the Ministry of Justice decided to withhold the indictment from the National Assembly's request. Subsequently, the full text of the indictment was published online on the 7th through a media outlet, and criticism toward the Blue House and the ruling party has intensified, mainly from the opposition. This case is currently assigned to the 21st Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Kim Mi-ri). No trial schedule has been set yet.
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