Court: "The 'Tablet PC for National Scandal' Submitted by JTBC Must Be Returned to Choi Seo-won"

Choi Seo-won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), who filed a lawsuit demanding the return of the tablet PC that is a key piece of evidence in the 'state affairs manipulation' case and was submitted by JTBC and is currently held by the prosecution, won the first trial.

On the afternoon of the 27th, Judge Cho Hae-geun of Civil Division 23 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the first trial of the lawsuit filed by Choi against former Blue House administrator Kim Han-soo and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, demanding the delivery of the tablet PC.

Earlier, Choi filed the main lawsuit stating that she wanted to secure the seized tablet PC to verify whether she had used it. At the same time, she applied for a provisional injunction to prevent the ownership from being transferred to others or the device from being discarded.

There are two tablet PCs related to the state affairs manipulation case. One was voluntarily submitted by a reporter to the investigative agency during the investigation and was used as evidence in the trial; it is currently held by the prosecution. The other is reported to be held by Choi’s niece, Jang Si-ho, with the special prosecutor's team.

From the beginning of the case, Choi completely denied any connection, claiming that the tablet PCs were neither used nor owned by her. However, when the tablet PCs were used as evidence in the trial, Choi demanded their return, asserting that they were her property.

In February, the court accepted Choi’s provisional injunction application, stating, "Until the main lawsuit judgment is finalized, the seized items must not be returned to anyone other than Choi, nor should possession be transferred, altered, or discarded."

A separate lawsuit demanding the return of the tablet PC voluntarily submitted to the special prosecutor is currently underway at the Seoul Central District Court. Choi was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined 20 billion won by the Supreme Court in June 2020 for the state affairs manipulation case and is currently serving her sentence.