Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, who was indicted on charges of exerting external pressure in the investigation of former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's illegal travel ban case, is attending a trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 20th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
Lee Seong-yoon, Seoul High Prosecutor General and the first 'defendant high prosecutor general' in constitutional history, appeared at his first formal trial on the 20th.
Lee arrived at the court about 22 minutes before the start of his first trial on charges of abuse of authority, held at 10:30 a.m. under the Criminal Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il). Wearing a blue tie and suit, he told reporters, "I will sincerely attend the trial so that justice and truth can be fully revealed," expressing his thoughts on the trial.
When asked questions such as "Do you still deny the charges?", "How do you feel about facing the whistleblower in court?", and "Your opinion on the allegation that you requested document approval from the Eastern District Prosecutor's Office chief," he only replied, "Thank you," and headed into the courtroom.
On this day, the court summoned Jang Jun-hee, then head of the Criminal Division 3 at the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and the first whistleblower in this case (currently head of the Major Economic Crimes Investigation Division at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office), for witness examination.
Previously, Lee was indicted on charges including exerting external pressure by claiming that the illegal travel ban on former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui in 2019 was lawfully executed. The prosecution's view is that Lee called the leadership of the Anyang Branch to exert external pressure and distort the investigation results.
Lee's defense has consistently denied the charges, stating, "The defendant was not involved in the travel ban on former Deputy Minister Kim, and handled the matter through lawful reporting procedures according to relevant regulations, so there was no motive to interfere with the Anyang Branch's investigation." They also requested a review by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Deliberation Committee, claiming the investigation team was conducting a 'targeted investigation,' but after reviewing the claims of both the investigation team and Lee, the committee recommended prosecution.
After being indicted in May and becoming the first 'defendant Seoul Central District Prosecutor General,' he was neither excluded from his duties nor resigned voluntarily, and was promoted to Seoul High Prosecutor General a month later.
Meanwhile, the cases involving former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Lee Kwang-cheol, Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, and Legal Researcher Cha Gyu-geun related to the illegal travel ban incident are being jointly heard by the same court. They were indicted together and appeared at the first formal trial held on the 15th. Former Secretary Lee stated directly, "What is more important is to uncover the truth about Kim Hak-ui's sexual bribery," adding, "It is truly shocking that the prosecution now claims Kim Hak-ui is not a suspect."
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