Prosecution Service Requests 5-Year Prison Sentence for Prosecutor Son Junsung in 'Alleged Report Solicitation' Case

The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (HCID) has requested a prison sentence for Prosecutor General Son Jun-sung, who is implicated in the 'alleged report solicitation scandal.'

Prosecutor Son Jun-sung, suspected of 'soliciting accusations,' is attending a trial on violations of the Public Official Election Act and other charges at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 27th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

At the sentencing hearing held on the 27th under the jurisdiction of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon), the HCID asked the court to sentence Prosecutor Son to a total of 5 years in prison.

The HCID requested a 3-year prison term for Prosecutor Son on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, and an additional 2 years for other charges. This is in accordance with the separate sentencing provisions under the Public Official Election Act.

The alleged report solicitation scandal refers to accusations that, in April 2020 ahead of the general elections, the prosecution instructed the then-opposition party, the United Future Party (predecessor of the People Power Party), to file complaints against pro-government figures.

Son Jun-sung, who was the Policy Officer for Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, is accused of transmitting images related to complaints against pro-government figures such as Yoo Si-min, then chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation and a proportional representative candidate of the Open Democratic Party, to Kim Woong, then a candidate for the United Future Party, via the Telegram messenger app.

Following complaints from civic groups, the HCID investigated not only Prosecutor Son and Representative Kim but also President Yoon Seok-youl, First Lady Kim Geon-hee, and Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon for eight months. In May of this year, the HCID indicted Prosecutor Son without detention on four charges: violation of the Public Official Election Act, official secret leakage, violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, and violation of the Electronic Criminal Procedure Act.