'Investigation Interference' Lee Seong-yoon Assigned to Trial Panel Handling Cha Gyu-geun and Lee Gyu-won Cases... Possibility of Consolidation

Lee Seong-yoon, the chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who has been indicted on charges of abuse of authority, is arriving at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul by car on the 13th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The case of Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who was indicted on charges of exerting external pressure in the investigation of former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's illegal travel ban, has been assigned to the trial division handling the cases of Cha Gyu-geun, Director of the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters at the Ministry of Justice, and Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won.

The Seoul Central District Court announced on the 14th that Lee's case was assigned to Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il), which specializes in election and corruption cases.

Initially, the case was assigned to a single-judge panel, but considering the importance of the case, the court reassigned it to a three-judge panel. The cases of Director Cha and Prosecutor Lee were also transferred from a single-judge panel to a multi-judge panel through procedural steps.

Accordingly, there is a high possibility that the two cases will be consolidated, allowing Chief Prosecutor Lee to appear in court and stand trial alongside Director Cha and Prosecutor Lee. This is especially likely given that the charges in both cases overlap significantly and that the trials of Director Cha and others are still in the early stages.

Previously, the prosecution also requested the court to consolidate the cases when indicting Chief Prosecutor Lee.

Chief Prosecutor Lee is accused of exerting pressure in June 2019, while serving as Head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, to halt the investigation into former Vice Minister Kim's travel ban case at the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office.