A 500,000 Won Fine Suspended for 'Summary Without Recordings'; Acquitted on Other Charges
Court: "False Entries Were Not Significant"
Prosecution: "Difficult to Accept as It Contradicts Existing Precedents"
Former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui’s ‘villa sexual bribery allegations’ investigation led to former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won (Chairman of the Strategy Committee of the Joguk Innovation Party) being prosecuted for writing a false interview report. In the first trial, Lee was given a suspended sentence with a fine of 500,000 won for the charge of falsifying official documents, while he was acquitted of the other four charges. The prosecution stated that the verdict is difficult to accept as it contradicts existing precedents and plans to consider an appeal.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong) on the 26th suspended the sentence with a fine of 500,000 won for Lee, who was indicted on charges including falsification of official documents. A suspended sentence means that for minor crimes, the sentencing is postponed for a certain period, and if two years pass from the suspension date, the case is effectively considered null.
Lee was indicted on charges including falsification of official documents, breach of official secrets, violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, obstruction of business, and violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation). He was acquitted of all charges except for falsification of official documents.
Regarding the charge of falsifying official documents, the court recognized Lee’s guilt for falsely summarizing statements without recordings during three interviews with Mr. Yoon. However, the court explained the reason for the suspended sentence by stating, “The defendant admitted the facts, and the false entries did not constitute a large portion of the three reports.” For the other charges, the court explained, “There is no proof of the allegations or the acts do not constitute crimes.” It also noted, “Considering the minor proportion and insignificance of the guilty part and that this is the defendant’s first offense.”
Lee is accused of fabricating facts that Mr. Yoon, a key figure in the sexual bribery allegations, did not mention and writing false interview reports while serving as a member of the Past Truth Investigation Team at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office from November 2018 to May 2019 during the Moon Jae-in administration.
The prosecution viewed that Lee violated regulations prohibiting the disclosure of official secrets by leaking the falsely written interview reports. The prosecution’s perspective is that Lee informed a specific media outlet to create public pressure for an investigation. The prosecution requested a three-year prison sentence at Lee’s sentencing hearing on the 23rd of last month.
Immediately after the verdict, Lee said, “I thank and respect the court for its wise judgment based on law and common sense. Among the numerous charges spanning dozens of pages, only one line was subject to a suspended sentence, and the rest were acquitted, so I understand this as effectively an acquittal. I will explain some parts to the appellate court.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution stated that it finds the first trial verdict difficult to accept and plans to consider an appeal. The prosecution explained, “The first trial ruling that acts such as directly delivering the Past Truth Investigation Team records, which were kept confidential according to the investigation records, to a reporter or specifically informing them of the contents do not constitute the crime of breach of official secrets contradicts existing precedents and is difficult to accept. The prosecution plans to carefully review the judgment, including this, and respond with an appeal.”
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