The Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) was sent to trial on the 31st by prosecutors investigating allegations that it illegally supported the Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung's pledge formulation during the last presidential election.
The Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Ji-hoon) announced that former KIDA Director Kim Yoon-tae was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, and former Deputy Director Kim Jeong-seop of the Sejong Institute was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.
Kim, the former deputy chairman of the Democratic Party's Central Election Committee's Defense Policy Special Committee during the presidential election, is accused of conspiring with Professor A from the Korea National Defense University to participate in developing candidate Lee's defense sector election pledges, while former Director Kim is accused of participating in the pledge development upon Kim's solicitation.
Professor A, despite being a public official as a professor at the Korea National Defense University, is also charged with joining the Democratic Party as a member and participating in the development of defense sector election pledges (violations of the State Public Officials Act and the Public Official Election Act), and has been sent to trial together.
The prosecution also filed summary indictments against three researchers affiliated with KIDA who were involved under the direction of former Director Kim. Summary indictment is a procedure where the prosecution requests the court to impose fines, penalties, or confiscations by summary order without a formal trial when the charges are relatively minor.
Earlier, in January last year, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the audit results that the national research institute KIDA illegally supported candidate Lee's pledge formulation ahead of the 2021 presidential election and referred the case to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for investigation.
The audit report stated that in March 2021, former Director Kim received a request from former Deputy Director Kim in a Telegram group chat to develop policy pledges, and subsequently, former Director Kim recommended and introduced KIDA staff members to former Deputy Director Kim.
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