Former Police Officer Denies Charges Despite Dismissal
Court Points Out "No Substantial Legal Benefit" in Argument
A former police officer who was indicted on charges of leaking investigation information regarding the late actor Lee Sun-kyun (48), who died while under investigation for alleged drug use, partially denied the charges in court. This officer has already filed an administrative lawsuit challenging his dismissal, but lost in the first trial.
At the first hearing held on the 10th at the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 11 (presided over by Judge Kim Saetbyeol), the attorney for former police lieutenant A, who is in his 30s and has been charged with leaking official secrets, argued, "There is room for dispute regarding the charge of leaking official secrets, considering recent case law." However, the attorney admitted to the facts of the charges and the violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.
In response, Judge Kim Saetbyeol pointed out, "The defendant's single act constitutes both 'leaking official secrets' and 'violating the Personal Information Protection Act,' resulting in an ideal concurrence of offenses. In such cases, if the more serious charge of violating the Personal Information Protection Act is found guilty, whether or not the charge of leaking official secrets is recognized does not significantly affect sentencing," adding, "Since a partial guilty verdict is likely, the outcome may not change much. Is there any substantial benefit to contesting this point legally?"
Additionally, regarding the attorney's argument that "since the document was discarded paper (waste paper), it does not constitute an official secret," the court responded, "Taking a photograph of a document containing investigation details does not change the fact that it is a confidential document." The attorney replied that he would clarify his position at the next hearing.
The document leaked by former lieutenant A was an "investigation progress report" prepared by the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's Narcotics Crime Investigation Division on October 18, 2023. This report contained detailed personal information on individuals involved in Lee's drug case, including their names, criminal records, identities, and occupations. Former lieutenant A is accused of photographing this report and sending it to two journalists. One of these journalists then passed the information received from A to an entertainment media reporter, and parts of the report were reported on December 28, 2023, the day after Lee's death.
This incident began on October 19, 2023, when a local news outlet published an exclusive article titled "Top Star L Under Internal Investigation for Drug Allegations." This article was the first to reveal that actor Lee was under investigation for drug charges. Prosecutor's investigator B is also being tried separately for allegedly providing investigation information to a local newspaper reporter prior to this report.
Lee was booked on October 14, 2023, and underwent three police interrogations. Four days after the third interrogation, on December 26, he was found dead near Waryong Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
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