Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok on Geoje Dating Violence Death Case: "Perpetrator Will Be Severely Punished"

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok visited the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam on the 23rd and spoke about incidents that occurred in the region.

Before entering the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, Lee met with reporters and addressed the recent case of a woman in her 20s from Geoje who died after suffering dating violence from her ex-boyfriend, stating, "We will conduct a strict investigation and impose thorough punishment."

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is answering reporters' questions in front of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

He explained, "The prosecution is responding very strongly and strictly to sexual violence, cyber sexual violence, and crimes against women, and will continue to do so," adding, "The law simply does not consider the male perpetrator as a subject for emergency arrest."

"We deeply understand the anguished feelings of the families and the victim's sense of injustice," he said, "We will scientifically determine the cause of death, thoroughly investigate the perpetrator, and impose severe criminal punishment."

Regarding the case of leaked seized items related to a large military supply company corruption incident that occurred in Sacheon in 2019, he stated, "An internal inspection of the involved prosecutors is underway, and we will handle the matter strictly based on the inspection results."

"After the investigation at that time, I understand that all those involved, including the High Military Court, police, and prosecution, were indicted and all received guilty verdicts," he added. "We will maintain the prosecution thoroughly for the detained suspects to ensure proper punishment is carried out."

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is entering the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

Concerning cases where the prosecution's special activity funds were used improperly, he said, "The budget, including special activity funds, is the people's hard-earned money," and added, "We will make greater efforts to use it according to the intended purposes such as investigations and intelligence activities."

Prosecutor General Lee stated, "The prosecution must investigate, prosecute, try, and enforce sentences strictly according to the Constitution, laws, evidence, principles, and legal reasoning, wherever it may be," and emphasized, "We will continue to adhere to these principles without change."

Earlier, Lee also criticized former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young's claim of 'drinking party bribery' during his trial on charges including illegal remittances to North Korea, saying, "Shaking the courts and prosecution to change the judicial system will not make existing crimes disappear or lessen."