Disadvantageous Testimony Emerges Again in Lee Seong-yoon Trial... "(Kim Hak-ui's Travel Ban) Prosecutor General's Office and Ministry of Justice Both Discussed It"

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 Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's illegal travel ban case, is attending a trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] In the trial of Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, who is accused of abusing his authority by exerting external pressure on the investigation into former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's illegal travel ban case, testimony unfavorable to Lee has emerged again.

On the 29th, at the trial of Lee held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon), Bae Yong-won, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, who appeared as a witness, testified that in June 2019, when he was serving as Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Anyang Branch, Lee called him and mentioned the illegal travel ban case of former Vice Minister Kim, saying, "The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office have already agreed on this, and the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office has also been informed, so you can check with him."

The timing when Prosecutor Bae received the call from Lee was right after the Criminal Division 3 of the Anyang Branch detected signs of the illegal travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim and reported it to the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office through the branch chief. At that time, Lee was the head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

When the prosecution asked, "Was Lee's statement implying that the travel ban reflected the intentions of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, so why raise an issue about it? Did you feel that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office did not want the investigation to proceed?" Prosecutor Bae answered, "Yes."

Prosecutor Bae also said, "I took Lee's words as meaning, 'Why are you making an issue out of this?'"

Prosecutor Bae added, "Right after receiving the report about the illegal travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim, I wondered how such an absurd thing could happen. The travel ban was imposed without meeting the legal requirements, and it was shocking that a prosecutor was involved in such an act."

At the trial held on the 15th, Lee Hyun-chul, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, who was serving as the Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Anyang Branch at the time, testified as a witness that the day after he sent a report to the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2019 indicating that the travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim was illegally imposed, he received a call from Kim Hyung-geun, then Head of the Investigation Command Section of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division (currently Chief Prosecutor of Bucheon Branch, Incheon District Prosecutors' Office).

When asked by the prosecution, "Did Kim Hyung-geun say, 'Please resolve this at the Anyang Branch level. Isn't this something that should be resolved?' and 'We will consider the report as not received'?" Chief Prosecutor Lee replied, "That seems to be the intention. He conveyed the atmosphere at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and said something along those lines."

Chief Prosecutor Lee also said, "By saying the report was not received, they were shifting responsibility to the frontline branch. It was probably an intention not to investigate and to cover it up."

He added, "Telling the Anyang Branch to handle it themselves meant to cover it up. If they wanted an investigation, they would have said, 'We will approve it, so investigate as you see fit.' It seems the Investigation Command Section Chief was conveying the will of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."

Lee, who was the head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2019, was non-detained indicted on charges of exerting pressure to block the investigation by the Criminal Division 3 of the Anyang Branch into the illegal travel ban allegations against former Vice Minister Kim.

At that time, the Ministry of Justice requested an investigation into the person who leaked the travel ban information to former Vice Minister Kim, but the Criminal Division 3 of the Anyang Branch, during the investigation, discovered signs that the travel ban was imposed illegally and reported this to the higher authorities.

In early last year, as the illegal travel ban circumstances surfaced, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office launched an investigation, and Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, Research Fellow Cha Gyu-geun of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Lee Kwang-cheol were brought to trial.