Prosecution Seeks 1 Year 6 Months Imprisonment... Former Reporter Lee Expresses Concern Over Precedent Restricting Media Coverage Activities
[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The court's first ruling on former Channel A reporter Dongjae Lee, who was prosecuted on charges of attempted coercion against a source, is about to be announced. It has been 1 year and 4 months since the related allegations surfaced in March last year, drawing significant attention as the case involved conflicts between Choo Mi-ae and Yoon Seok-yeol as well as controversies over abuse of authority.
On the 16th, Judge Hong Chang-woo of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1 will hold the first trial sentencing hearing for former reporter Lee and junior reporter Baek, who were prosecuted on charges of attempted coercion. Previously, the prosecution had arrested and indicted former reporter Lee in August last year.
Former reporter Lee is accused of sending five letters to Lee Cheol, former CEO of Value Invest Korea (VIK) and major shareholder of SillaJen, mentioning the possibility of investigations into his family and coercing him to report misconduct by Yoo Si-min, director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, but failing to succeed.
He is also charged with meeting Lee Cheol’s proxy Ji three times, demanding reports on Yoo’s misconduct in a threatening manner, and instilling fear in Lee Cheol by implying that if he did not report corruption suspicions, his family would face additional investigations and other disadvantages.
During the trial, former reporter Lee’s side stated that the investigation was a legitimate journalistic activity for the public interest. They denied the charges, claiming that they never threatened to cause specific harm, which is a requirement for the crime of coercion. They also argued that the junior reporter’s involvement was minimal and unrelated to the letters.
However, in the sentencing hearing held in May, the prosecution requested a prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months for former reporter Lee, stating, "Mentioning criminal punishment and relations with the prosecution to a detained victim is a clear violation of journalistic ethics." They requested a 10-month prison sentence for the junior reporter.
In his final statement, former reporter Lee said, "I was trapped in a frame of collusion between the press and prosecution, and absurd falsehoods were spread," adding, "Over the past year, my family and I have lost everything. I never imagined losing everything in such a short time." He continued, "This case could set a precedent restricting journalistic activities by investigative agencies," and requested, "Please consider press freedom for the sake of the public interest, and for the press that criticizes political and capital power in our society."
In the legal community, it is expected that the trial of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jung Jin-woong, who was indicted on charges of abuse of authority after a physical altercation during the search of Prosecutor General Han Dong-hoon, as well as the political activities of former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, will be significantly affected. At the time, Minister Choo had even exercised her authority to direct the investigation, excluding Yoon from supervising the investigation, citing the involvement of Prosecutor Han, a close aide of Yoon.
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