'Illegal Departure of Kim Hak-ui' First Trial Next Month... Ministry of Justice Employee as First Witness

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The first formal trial next month will be held for former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Lee Gwang-cheol, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, and Research Fellow Cha Gyu-geun of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, who were indicted on charges of involvement in the illegal travel ban case of former Ministry of Justice Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui. Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk is expected to appear as a witness in future trials.

On the 17th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il) held a pretrial hearing for Lee, the former secretary, and others.

Lee, the former secretary, was indicted last July on charges of leading the illegal travel ban through Research Fellow Cha and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee. Cha and Lee are accused of illegally banning former Vice Minister Kim’s departure in March 2019 (abuse of authority and obstruction of rights). The court consolidated the trials considering that Lee was identified as an accomplice with the two previously indicted individuals.

On this day, the prosecution announced that it would first conduct witness questioning of the Ministry of Justice Immigration Office staff who were the practical personnel at the time. The defense stated, "The main issue is whether there was a discussion about emergency travel ban measures at the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office at that time," and expressed the opinion that "high-ranking officials such as Deputy Chief Prosecutor Bong Wook, Ministry of Justice Prosecutor General Yoon Dae-jin, and Blue House Civil Affairs Chief Cho Kuk should be questioned in order."

Earlier, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee filed a constitutional complaint claiming that the prosecution’s indictment ignoring the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials’ (CIO) request for re-referral was unconstitutional but the complaint was dismissed. The CIO transferred the case to the prosecution citing insufficient investigation conditions and sent an official letter requesting the prosecution to complete the investigation and then re-transfer the case to decide whether to indict, but the prosecution ignored this and indicted, which is claimed to be illegal.

The court decided to hold the first trial on the 15th of next month and proceed with oral arguments from the defense attorneys. Although Ministry of Justice staff will be summoned as the first witnesses, the court stated that defendants unrelated to the testimony may have their trials separated and may not need to attend.