Lee Gyuwon Side: "Kim Hak-ui's Departure Order by Deputy Prosecutor General Bong Wook"... Prosecution: "Suitable for Indictment"

Former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui / [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] In the first trial of the illegal travel ban case involving former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, prosecutor Lee Gyu-won’s side claimed that "at the time, the emergency travel ban request was sent under the specific prior instructions of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Bong Wook of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."

At the first preparatory hearing held on the 7th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Sun-il), Lee’s defense attorney stated, "The person who made the decision and gave the instructions at the time was the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office," adding, "The Deputy Chief Prosecutor is the subject of abuse of authority, and defendant Lee Gyu-won is the target."

Prosecutor Lee is accused of blocking Kim’s departure using an emergency travel ban request written with a case number for which Kim had previously been cleared, and of listing a non-existent investigation number on the subsequent approval request.

However, after the trial, when asked by reporters whether he denies the charges, Lee’s defense repeatedly insisted, "As a member of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the time, he could not have acted without instructions from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office," and "The act of sending the emergency travel ban request was done under the instructions of former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Bong Wook."

The defense attorney for Cha Gyu-geun, Director of the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters at the Ministry of Justice, who is accused of approving the travel ban request and receiving reports on Kim’s personal information inquiries 177 times through Ministry of Justice officials, pointed out, "The prosecution has investigated this case for months, reviewed relevant laws and precedents, and reached a conclusion, then asks the defendant, 'Why did you not act this way?'" He also expressed the view that "It is demanding perfection from a defendant who was placed in a situation where decisions had to be made in a short time late at night."

On the other hand, the prosecution emphasized, while explaining the charges against prosecutor Lee and Director Cha, that "the essence lies in their illegal law enforcement."

The prosecution also claimed that they have the authority to indict in this case, which was handed over from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), stating, "The indictment in this case is lawful." They explained, "Defendant Lee Gyu-won argues that only the CIO can indict prosecutors and that the case should be transferred back to the CIO, but when the CIO transferred the case on March 15, the authority to dispose of it passed to the prosecution."

Previously, the CIO had received the case from the prosecution but re-transferred it back to the prosecution citing insufficient investigative conditions. During this process, the CIO also sent an official letter stating, 'After the investigation is completed, transfer the case so that the CIO can decide whether to indict.' In response, the prosecution immediately rejected the CIO’s request as "an absurd logic" and directly indicted prosecutor Lee and Director Cha.