On the 31st, the first trial verdict will be announced for Prosecutor General Son Jun-sung (Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Daegu High Prosecutors' Office), who was indicted on charges related to the so-called 'report solicitation' scandal, in which the prosecution led by then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol allegedly solicited the opposition party to file complaints against ruling party politicians ahead of the April 2020 general election.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) will hold the sentencing hearing at 11 a.m. on the same day for Son's case involving violations of the Public Official Election Act and official secrets leakage. This comes about one year and eight months after the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HICO) indicted Son without detention in May 2022.
Son, who was the Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, is accused of exchanging images of complaints and real-name verdict documents concerning pro-ruling party figures such as former Open Democratic Party proportional representative candidate Choi Kang-wook, former Supreme Council member Hwang Hee-seok, and then Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min via the Telegram messenger with Kim Woong, a then Future United Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) candidate and current People Power Party lawmaker.
On September 2, 2021, Newsbus raised related suspicions through a series of reports starting with an exclusive article titled '[Exclusive] Yoon Seok-yeol's Prosecution Solicits Complaints Against Yoo Si-min, Choi Kang-wook, Hwang Hee-seok, etc., Just Before the General Election to the People Power Party.'
On the same day, Newsbus published another article titled '[Background Explanation] Attempt to Neutralize Prosecutor General Met with Yoon Seok-yeol Soliciting Complaints to the Opposition Party,' pointing out that the complaint in question was filed on April 3, 2020, during a period of intense conflict between then Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and former Prosecutor General Yoon. The article argued that after MBC's report on the 'collusion between prosecutors and media' allegations, as inspections of Yoon's faction and pressure on the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation were anticipated, Yoon's prosecution appeared to have solicited complaints against pro-ruling party figures to the Future United Party as a countermeasure against Minister Choo's side through another prosecution investigation.
Upon the emergence of related suspicions, HICO launched an investigation and confirmed that the complaint and verdict documents were transmitted via Telegram messenger in the order of Prosecutor Son → Lawmaker Kim Woong → whistleblower Jo Sung-eun. After eight months of investigation, Son was indicted.
During the investigation, HICO requested arrest warrants for Son twice, but both were dismissed on grounds such as 'insufficient explanation of the reasons, necessity, and appropriateness of detention,' leading to criticism of HICO's excessive investigation.
HICO also registered then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, now President, and Han Dong-hoon, then head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division, as suspects but eventually cleared them of charges.
In the sentencing hearing held last November, HICO requested the court to sentence Son to three years in prison for violating the Public Official Election Act under the separate sentencing provisions and two years in prison for other charges including official secrets leakage.
If Son is found guilty on this day, it will be the first case among those prosecuted by HICO to receive a guilty verdict.
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