Law, False Information in Request for Travel Ban... Suspended Sentence of 4 Months Imprisonment
Lee Gyu-won, deputy chief prosecutor of Daegu District Prosecutors' Office (age 47, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 36), who is on trial for illegally banning former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui from leaving the country, announced his resignation on the 7th.
Lee Gyu-won, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, indicted on charges of involvement in the illegal travel ban of former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui./Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
On his social media, Lee stated, "This is truly a Prosecutor's Republic. The country is in decline," adding, "Although it may not compare to the hardships faced by former Minister Cho Kuk or Representative Lee Jae-myung, I have been summoned by the prosecution 14 times and my life has been held hostage by investigations and trials for four years."
He continued, "The spirit of this general election is the strict judgment of the people on the misrule of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration based on the prosecution," and said, "The first step is a landslide victory for the progressive reform camp, and although I am lacking, I intend to contribute. I will take part in prosecutorial reform by utilizing my experience and awareness of the issues within the prosecution."
It appears that Lee is effectively preparing to run in the general election. Although the deadline for public officials to resign in order to run for a district seat under the Public Official Election Act (90 days before the election) has passed, those intending to run as proportional representatives only need to resign 30 days prior.
In March 2019, while working at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Division, Lee was prosecuted for submitting an urgent travel ban request for former Deputy Minister Kim using a past case number for which Kim had already been cleared, and for listing a non-existent investigation number in the subsequent approval request.
He is also on trial for falsifying contents in meeting reports with construction businessman Yoon Joong-chun and former Blue House administrative officer Park Kwan-cheon, and for informing two reporters of these false details, which were then reported in the media.
The first trial court recognized the necessity of banning former Deputy Minister Kim from leaving the country and acquitted Lee of that charge, but found him guilty only of submitting a travel ban request with false information and obtaining subsequent approval, sentencing him to four months in prison with the sentence suspended.
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