Court Schedules Testimony for November 3
The court has accepted the special prosecutor's request for a pretrial witness examination of Pastor Kim Janghwan, Chairman of Far East Broadcasting Company, who is involved in the investigation of the death of Marine Lee Myunghyun.
According to the legal community on October 18, the Suwon District Court has decided to summon Pastor Kim to testify in court at 10 a.m. on November 3.
A pretrial witness examination is a procedure in which the court summons a person who is difficult for investigative authorities to question, in order to secure their testimony before a formal trial begins. The special prosecutor's team detected indications that Pastor Kim was involved in lobbying efforts to save former Marine 1st Division Commander Lim Sunggeun and requested his appearance several times, but Pastor Kim reportedly did not comply.
As a result, on October 2, the special prosecutor filed for a witness examination of Pastor Kim, and the court granted the request. If Pastor Kim fails to comply with the court's summons without a valid reason, a warrant for his appearance may be issued, and a fine of up to 5 million won may be imposed for nonappearance.
The special prosecutor plans to focus the questioning on Pastor Kim's meeting with former President Yoon Suk Yeol in August last year, shortly after the death of Corporal Chae, as well as his subsequent phone call with former Division Commander Lim.
The special prosecutor's team has also separately requested a pretrial witness examination of Han Kibung, former president of Far East Broadcasting Company.
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