Court Dismisses Jeon Du-hwan's Side's Lawsuit to Cancel Seizure of Yeonhui-dong Annex

Former President Jeon Du-hwan's residence located in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam. munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The side of former President Jeon Du-hwan lost a lawsuit seeking to cancel the prosecution's seizure of the annex at his Yeonhui-dong residence in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

The Administrative Division 6 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Lee Seong-yong) ruled against the plaintiff on the 22nd in the hearing of the lawsuit filed by the former president's third daughter-in-law, Ms. Lee, against the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, seeking confirmation of the invalidity of the seizure order.

Earlier, Ms. Lee filed a lawsuit in October 2018, claiming that the seizure of the annex at the Yeonhui-dong residence registered under her name was unjust.

This lawsuit is one of several filed by the former president's family after the Yeonhui-dong residence was put up for public auction at the prosecution's request in 2018.

Previously, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Jeong Jun-young, Song Young-seung, Kang Sang-wook) partially accepted an objection to the execution of the trial filed by the former president against the prosecution's confiscation on November 20 of last year.

At that time, the court confirmed that the annex registered under the name of the former president's third daughter-in-law was purchased with slush funds created from bribes and upheld the public auction order. However, it decided to cancel the seizure of the main building registered under the name of the former president's wife, Lee Soon-ja, and the garden registered under the name of the secretary, citing insufficient evidence that these were illegal assets subject to confiscation.

Regarding this court decision, the Crime Proceeds Recovery Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Seung-hwan) has filed an immediate appeal with the Seoul High Court.