Violation of Attorney-at-Law Act for Alleged "Sentence Bargaining"
Lee Jongho's Side: "No Concern Over Destruction of Evidence"
The detention validity review hearing for Jongho Lee, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest, who has been identified as a close aide to First Lady Kim Gunhee, has concluded. As early as late this afternoon, a decision will be made regarding whether Lee will be released.
Jongho Lee, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest, is appearing at the Kim Gunhee special prosecutor's office set up in the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. 2025.07.23 Photo by Dongju Yoon
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeals Division 2-1 (Presiding Judges: Kwak Junghan, Kang Heeseok, and Cho Euna) conducted the detention validity review hearing for Lee starting at 2:20 p.m. on this day.
Prior to the hearing, Lee's attorney stated, "We plan to make the same arguments as during the previous warrant review," and added, "Receiving 80 million won over 25 occasions is a small amount, isn't it? We intend to clarify that this is a very minor matter."
Previously, the special prosecutor team led by Min Jungki, which is investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim, requested an arrest warrant for Lee on July 1 on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. On July 5, Judge Nam Sejin, who is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued the arrest warrant, citing concerns over the destruction of evidence.
On July 6, Lee filed a request with the Seoul Central District Court for a detention validity review, arguing that his detention was unjust. In the petition, Lee's side asserted that the special prosecutor's team had already secured most of the key evidence, and that there was no substantial evidence left to be destroyed, meaning that the stated reason for detention?concern over destruction of evidence?did not apply.
It has also been reported that Lee's petition argued the charge of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act is a separate matter outside the scope of the special prosecutor's investigation.
A detention validity review is a procedure in which the court examines whether the detention of a suspect is lawful and whether continued detention is necessary. Within 48 hours of receiving the petition, the court must question the suspect, review the evidence, and comprehensively re-examine the requirements for detention and the necessity of continued custody.
Lee is accused of receiving approximately 80 million won from Jeongpil Lee, the main orchestrator of the first round of stock price manipulation at Deutsche Motors, on 25 occasions between June 2022 and February 2023, and promising to help him receive a suspended sentence instead of imprisonment in his criminal trial.
Lee is known to have played the role of "control tower" in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case, which is the main focus of the special prosecutor's investigation. He also appears in other allegations, including the Sambu Construction stock manipulation case, in which First Lady Kim is suspected of being involved, as well as lobbying efforts for clemency for Seonggeun Lim and Byeongno Cho.
The court is expected to make a decision on Lee's release as early as today, taking into account whether the requirements for detention are met and concerns over the destruction of evidence. According to the Criminal Procedure Rules, the result must be delivered within 24 hours after the hearing concludes.
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