Prosecutor Lee Jeongseop Denies Charges of False Address Registration and Improper Solicitation Act Violation at First Trial

Lee Jeongseop, a prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office who was indicted on charges of registering a false address for his child and receiving resort accommodations from a former executive of a major corporation (violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act), denied all charges at his first trial.

Lee Jeongseop, a prosecutor at Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, is attending the first trial session of the first instance for 'false address registration and violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act' held on the 9th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On the morning of the 9th, Presiding Judge Park Kanggyun of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 4 held the first hearing for Prosecutor Lee.

On this day, Lee's defense attorney argued, "During the divorce proceedings of the defendant's brother-in-law and his wife, there were unverified speculative claims and false allegations," and stated, "We deny all charges." The defense also claimed procedural violations, stating that the prosecution, which does not have direct investigative authority, initiated the investigation, conducted seizure procedures without guaranteeing the right of participation to the person whose property was seized, and exceeded the scope of voluntary submission by conducting searches.

Lee's side stated, "He was completely unaware of the address registration, and he never requested a criminal record check, so there is no way he could have provided such information." Regarding the violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the defense said, "He was not involved at all in the resort reservation or payment process. Even conceding everything, the value of the benefit did not exceed 1 million won per instance."

The court indicated that it would be necessary for Lee's side to clarify their arguments regarding procedural violations in the prosecution's investigation and evidence collection process, and scheduled a preparatory hearing for 4 p.m. on June 11.

The prosecution indicted Lee without detention in March, alleging that he registered a false address for his child to facilitate elementary school admission and that he received resort accommodation and meal benefits worth approximately 3.5 million won over three occasions in three years from a former executive of a major corporation.