Three People Including Former Seoul Police Agency Intelligence Chief Park Seong-min, Pretrial Hearing Scheduled for the 8th
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] The judiciary's procedure to determine the cause and responsibility of the Itaewon tragedy will begin this month. It has been about three months since the accident occurred.
Former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Public Safety Information and Foreign Affairs Division Chief Park Seong-min is entering the Seoul Western District Court on December 5 last year to undergo suspect interrogation. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
According to the legal community on the 1st, Judge Kang Seongsu of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Western District Court will hold the first pretrial conference at 10:30 a.m. on the 8th for former Seoul Police Agency Public Safety Information and Foreign Affairs Division Chief Park Seongmin and former Yongsan Police Station Intelligence Division Chief Kim Jinho, who were arrested and indicted on charges including obstruction of evidence destruction and damage to public electronic records. The hearing procedure for Kwak, an employee of the Yongsan Police Station Intelligence Division, who was indicted without detention on charges of obstruction of evidence and damage to public electronic records, will also be conducted together.
The pretrial conference is a process where the court listens to the prosecution and defense's plans for presenting evidence and selects necessary evidence and witnesses before entering the formal trial. The defendant is not obligated to attend.
They are accused of ordering the deletion of intelligence reports that anticipated crowds gathering in Itaewon during Halloween and carrying out this order. Former Chief Park is suspected of instructing frontline intelligence chiefs, including former Chief Kim, via messenger on November 2 last year to delete intelligence reports indicating that crowds might gather in Itaewon on Halloween. Former Chief Kim is also under investigation for ordering his subordinate Kwak to delete the reports stored on his work PC.
Earlier, on November 1 last year, the police formed a Special Investigation Headquarters (Special HQ) at the National Police Agency to investigate the cause and responsibility of the Itaewon tragedy that occurred on October 29. The Special HQ completed a 74-day investigation on the 13th of last month and handed over a total of 23 people to the prosecution during this period. The prosecution conducted supplementary investigations and on December 30 last year, indicted three people including former Chief Park for the first time in connection with this tragedy. As of that date, the prosecution has indicted 17 defendants (including two corporations).
Starting with the three defendants including former Chief Park, judicial procedures for the defendants are expected to continue consecutively. The trial for Lee, CEO of Hamilton Hotel, who is charged with violating the Building Act, along with two hotel tenants, one hotel operating corporation, and one hotel tenant corporation, will be held on March 10 at 10:10 a.m. presided over by Judge Park Bomi of Criminal Division 4. According to the prosecution, they are accused of erecting illegal structures around the Hamilton Hotel main building and occupying roads without permission.
The trial schedules for nine of the 17 defendants indicted by the prosecution, including former Yongsan Police Station Chief Lee Imjae and Yongsan District Mayor Park Heeyoung, have not yet been set. The trials for these nine will all be conducted later by the Criminal Division 11 of the same court.
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