Seong-yoon Lee, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Testimony has emerged in the trial of Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, who is accused of exerting external pressure in the investigation of the 'Illegal Departure Ban Case of Former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui,' stating that the investigation was halted at the request of the Anti-Corruption and Violence Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, where Lee served as a chief prosecutor at the time.
On the 1st, Prosecutor Yoon, who was part of the investigation team at the time, testified at the second hearing of Lee’s trial for abuse of authority and obstruction of justice held by the Criminal Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il).
In court that day, Prosecutor Yoon stated that in April 2019, Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who was dispatched to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Past Affairs Investigation Team from the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, reported to his superior, Chief Prosecutor Jang Jun-hee, that former Deputy Minister Kim’s departure had been illegally banned. Chief Prosecutor Jang is the whistleblower of the illegal departure ban case.
Prosecutor Yoon further testified that while there was no issue when reporting to the Anyang Branch leadership, after reporting to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Anti-Corruption and Violence Division, then-Anyang Branch Chief Lee Hyun-cheol changed his stance and instructed that the investigation should not proceed. Yoon said, "The term 'approval' is somewhat strange, but since the guidelines require that an investigation be conducted after sending the report to the Anti-Corruption Division, I thought they would simply say to proceed as usual. I thought so, but it did not proceed that way."
He added, "Without any change in circumstances, the stance was reversed two days after the report, instructing not to investigate," and emphasized that Chief Lee repeatedly demanded the suspension of the investigation, claiming there was no problem.
Prosecutor Yoon expressed that he felt it was unfair for prosecutors not to investigate the surveillance of Ministry of Justice officials. He said, "This is not a simple matter. A sitting prosecutor forged official documents. No matter how socially condemned a person is, the investigation should proceed. The Past Affairs Investigation Team imposed an emergency departure ban on someone whose involvement was unconfirmed and conducted dozens of prior inquiries. Anyone could see this was personal surveillance."
Lee, the Chief Prosecutor, was indicted on charges including exerting external pressure by claiming that the departure ban was lawfully imposed during the 2019 illegal departure ban investigation. The prosecution’s view is that Lee called the Anyang Branch leadership to exert pressure and distort the investigation results.
On the other hand, Lee’s defense denies the charges, stating that he was not involved in the case and had no motive to intervene.
The next hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on January 12 of next year.
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