Nowungrae Requests Constitutional Review... Prosecution Claims "Intent to Delay Trial"

No Woong-rae's Side: "Prosecution Filed Only Statements Without Charging Accomplices"
Prosecution: "Already Deemed Legal by Supreme Court and Constitutional Court"

No Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who is on trial for allegedly receiving bribes and illegal political funds amounting to around 60 million won, has requested a constitutional review of the law from the court nine months after being indicted. The prosecution opposed this, stating it was an attempt to delay the trial ahead of the general election.

No Woong-rae, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

On the 12th, during the trial of No’s case involving violations of the Political Funds Act held under Judge Lee Hwan-gi of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 4, No’s defense attorney announced, "We are filing a request for a constitutional review of Articles 312, Paragraphs 4 and 5, and Article 247 of the Criminal Procedure Act."

Articles 312, Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act pertain to the admissibility of witness statements prepared by investigative agencies as evidence in court. Article 247 of the same law stipulates the 'prosecutorial discretion' principle, recognizing the prosecution’s discretion in indicting or not indicting.

No’s defense argued, "The prosecutor is submitting witness statements from individuals who are accomplices of the defendant without formally investigating or indicting them, thereby deciding the evidentiary value on their own," adding, "This undermines the framework of a fair trial and raises constitutional concerns." They pointed out that the prosecution did not separately indict Jo, the spouse of businessman Park who was indicted for bribing and providing political funds to No, but only submitted Jo’s statement as evidence.

In response, the prosecution said, "All these provisions have been deemed lawful by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court," and added, "There have been recent reports that No was deemed 'qualified' as a candidate for public office by his party, and we strongly suspect this is an attempt to delay the trial at such a time."

The court stated, "If the court actually files the request, that would be one thing, but if not, it is unlikely to be closely related to delaying the trial."

A constitutional review is a trial that examines whether the law applied to a specific case is unconstitutional. If a party to the case requests it and the court deems it necessary, it can refer the matter to the Constitutional Court. The trial is temporarily suspended until the Constitutional Court decides on the constitutionality.

No was indicted in March last year on charges of receiving 60 million won in five installments from Park between February and December 2020 under the pretext of facilitating power plant supply projects, arranging permits for logistics centers, and various election funds.