Acquittals Finalized for Cha Kyugeun, Lee Gyuwon, and Lee Gwangcheol
Lee Seongyun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea who was put on trial for allegedly exerting undue pressure during the investigation into the so-called "illegal travel ban" case involving former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hakui, has been acquitted with a final verdict of not guilty.
Lee Seongyun, Research Fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, holding a press conference. Photo by Yonhap News
On June 12, the Supreme Court's third division, presided over by Justice Lee Heungku, upheld the lower court's acquittal of Lee, who had been indicted on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.
The Supreme Court stated, "There was no error in the lower court's ruling that would have affected the verdict, such as misunderstanding the legal principles regarding 'abuse of authority,' 'causing someone to perform an act they are not obliged to do or obstructing the exercise of a person's rights,' causality, or conspiracy as defined under the crime of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights."
Lee, who was serving as the head of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in June 2019, was indicted in May 2021 on charges of pressuring the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office to halt its investigation into the travel ban imposed on former Vice Minister Kim.
Kim, who was under investigation by prosecutors over allegations of receiving sexual favors at a villa, attempted to leave the country via Incheon International Airport on March 22, 2019, but was prevented from doing so by an emergency travel ban issued by the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice requested a prosecutorial investigation, suspecting that Kim might have been tipped off in advance about the travel ban. However, the Anyang branch instead uncovered evidence suggesting that the travel ban itself had been imposed illegally and launched its own investigation.
In the first trial, the court stated, "While there are suspicions that Lee exerted undue pressure, it cannot be conclusively determined that a crime was committed, as there were other factors that prevented the investigation from proceeding," and delivered a not guilty verdict. Prosecutors appealed, but the appellate court upheld the first ruling. The appellate panel noted, "Given that the then Director-General of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Justice twice requested the investigation be halted, it cannot be ruled out beyond reasonable doubt that the investigation team independently decided to discontinue the probe."
Meanwhile, on June 5, the Supreme Court also finalized acquittals for Lee Gyuwon, Strategy Committee Chairman of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party; Cha Kyugeun, lawmaker from the Cho Kuk Innovation Party; and Lee Gwangcheol, former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary, who were indicted on charges of blocking Kim's attempt to leave the country.
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