Woo Byung-woo Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison for Illegal Surveillance... Acquitted of 'State Affairs Manipulation' Charges

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Woo Byung-woo, former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, who was indicted for condoning the Park Geun-hye administration's state affairs manipulation and conducting illegal surveillance through the National Intelligence Service, has been sentenced to one year in prison by the Supreme Court. However, he was acquitted of charges related to aiding the state affairs manipulation.

On the 16th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing Woo to one year in prison on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

Woo was accused of knowing about the misconduct of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) and others related to the Mir and K-Sports Foundations but failing to conduct an investigation. Instead, he allegedly advised former Blue House Policy Coordination Secretary Ahn Jong-beom on legal countermeasures, thereby aiding the state affairs manipulation scandal.

He was also charged with orchestrating demotions of public officials under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and ordering the Korea Sports Council and 28 nationwide sports clubs to prepare for on-site inspections. Additionally, when former inspector Lee initiated an investigation against him, Woo allegedly obstructed the special inspection duties through the National Police Agency chief and others.

In the first trial, Woo was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for aiding the state affairs manipulation. For the illegal surveillance charges, he received a sentence of one year and six months. The first trial court found him guilty of charges including aiding the state affairs manipulation, obstructing the special inspector's duties, pressuring the Fair Trade Commission to file a complaint against CJ E&M Vice Chairman Lee Mi-kyung, ordering surveillance of former special inspector Lee Seok-soo and education officials critical of the government, and ordering surveillance of the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service.

However, the second trial significantly overturned these rulings. The appellate court recognized only two charges as guilty: ordering former National Intelligence Service Director of National Interest Information Chu Myung-ho to surveil former special inspector Lee, and ordering the National Intelligence Service to surveil and report on misconduct information of former Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Organizing Committee Chairman Kim Jin-sun, who was acquitted in the first trial. Woo was sentenced to one year in prison.

After the second trial, Woo immediately expressed his intention to appeal. He stated, "The special prosecutor and prosecution initially started investigations on suspicions of aiding the state affairs manipulation, filing 24 charges and indicting 18, with only two resulting in guilty verdicts. I believe the special prosecutor and prosecution turned my sincere service to the president during my 2 years and 4 months at the Blue House into crimes. I wonder why they pushed so hard," expressing his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court's ruling on this day was consistent. It recognized guilt only for the charge of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights, specifically for compelling National Intelligence Service employees to collect and report information on the Blue House special inspector and the former Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Organizing Committee Chairman, which was beyond their duties.

Regarding the charge of aiding the state affairs manipulation, the Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's interpretation. The appellate court had ruled that "Presidential Secretariat staff have no direct duty to conduct investigations unless directly ordered by the president," and found no evidence that Woo actively participated in concealing the crimes of former Blue House Economic Secretary Ahn Jong-beom and Choi Seo-won, thus acquitting him.