[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 19th, former Prosecutor Lee Gyuwon of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Division filed a constitutional complaint, arguing that the prosecution's decision to indict him while ignoring the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HCIO, Gongsoocheo)'s request for referral was unconstitutional.
Lee's attorney, Lawyer Lee Sucheon, stated in the afternoon, "We have submitted a constitutional complaint to the Constitutional Court regarding the prosecution's exercise of public authority by suddenly indicting without heeding the HCIO chief's request for re-referral." Earlier this month, Lee was brought to trial along with Cha Gyugeun, head of the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreign Policy Bureau, over allegations related to the illegal travel ban on former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui.
In 2019, as a member of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Division, Prosecutor Lee is accused of requesting an emergency travel ban under a case number that had already been dismissed when former Deputy Minister Kim attempted a late-night departure, and of using a fake investigation number in the subsequent approval request. Head Cha is accused of approving the request despite knowing there were legal issues and then manipulating related electronic records.
Last month, based on the HCIO Act, the prosecution referred the case involving the active prosecutor Lee to the HCIO. However, the HCIO returned the case to the prosecution, citing a lack of investigative conditions, and requested that the prosecution decide on indictment after investigation and transfer the case. The prosecution dismissed this as "absurd logic" and proceeded to bring Lee and Head Cha to trial.
The case involving Prosecutor Lee and Head Cha has been assigned to the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il), with the first pretrial hearing scheduled for the 7th of next month. Initially, the case was assigned to a single-judge panel, but considering the importance of the matter, the Seoul Central District Court reassigned it to a three-judge panel.
Some in the legal community expect that Lee's side will argue in court that, according to the HCIO Act, cases involving active prosecutors should be handled by the HCIO, and thus the indictment is illegal and improper, requesting dismissal of the indictment. Since the Supreme Court has also expressed that it is a matter for the presiding court to decide, the dispute over prosecutorial authority is expected to be resolved in court. However, with Lee's side filing a constitutional complaint on this day, the Constitutional Court's decision is anticipated to significantly impact criminal trials as well.
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