Execution time2023-10-03 13:37
Delayed Indictment for Lee Jae-myeong in Daejang-dong… Possibility of Refiling Charges
‘Separate Indictments’ Being Discussed Due to Varied Explanations for Each Charge
Representative Lee Jae-myeong briefed on Gangseo-gu Mayoral By-Election
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Jeong-hoon = Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, received a briefing on the progress of the party’s Gangseo-gu mayoral by-election in Seoul from General Secretary Cho Jung-sik and Under-Secretary-General Lee Hae-sik at Green Hospital in Jungrang-gu, Seoul on September 28, 2023. uwg806@yna.co.kr
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Bo-bae = After the dismissal of the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, the prosecution is considering its next steps in handling the case.
The prosecution is keeping all options open, from indicting Representative Lee without remand to reapplying for an arrest warrant with additional charges.
However, neither option is straightforward given the court’s reason for rejecting the arrest warrant and the political implications involved.
According to legal experts on October 3, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office 1 (led by Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) reviewed the grounds for the dismissal of the arrest warrant for Rep. Lee and examined the existing investigation records during the Chuseok holiday.
One possible option for the prosecution is to strengthen the charges and proceed with indictment without detention.
Internally, the prosecution believes that although the court rejected the arrest warrant, it acknowledged that a significant portion of the charges have been substantiated.
Previously, the prosecution charged Lee without custody on March 22, following the automatic rejection of the initial arrest warrant request in February due to the National Assembly’s rejection of the motion.
Based on this precedent, there is a possibility that CEO Lee will be charged without detention after a supplementary investigation lasting about a month, similar to the previous case.
Although the upcoming government audit of the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office starting on the 11th of this month may introduce some uncertainties, a prosecution official stated, “The investigative team is firmly committed to conducting the investigation without being influenced by political deadlines.”
Lee Hwa-young Attends Suspect Interrogation Prior to Arrest
(Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Hong Ki-won = KINTEX CEO Lee Hwa-young, who is suspected of receiving millions in bribes from Ssangbangwool Group, attended a suspect interrogation at the Suwon District Prosecutors Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of September 27. 2022.9.27 [Joint Coverage] xanadu@yna.co.kr
However, the fact that different rulings were made by the court regarding the level of explanation for each of Representative Lee’s charges is a cause for concern for the prosecution.
Of particular note is the court’s mention of a ‘disputable aspect’ in the case of suspected payments to North Korea.
The court recognized the ‘arbitrary nature of the prosecution’s statement’ regarding the controversial situation involving former Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young (who was arrested and charged). However, according to the amended Criminal Procedure Act from January last year, if former Deputy Governor Lee disputes the prosecution’s interrogation record in court, the evidence becomes inadmissible.
From the prosecution’s perspective, instead of hastily addressing the North Korean payment case, it may be prudent to monitor the progress of former Vice Governor Lee’s trial and decide on the direction of the supplementary investigation.
In this context, there is a discussion on a ‘separate prosecution’ plan, where cases with relatively strong justifications, such as perjury allegations and suspicions in Baekhyun-dong, are brought to trial first.
Since the court explicitly stated that “the charge appears to be proven” regarding the perjury charge, there should be no obstacles to filing and maintaining the indictment.
Regarding Baekhyeon-dong, the court delivered a somewhat reserved judgment, stating that there is no direct evidence. However, within the prosecution, there is a belief that there is enough direct evidence to proceed with the indictment without further delay.
If certain cases are prosecuted first, there is a possibility of transferring the North Korean payment case back to the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, which was previously investigating it.
Review of Arrest Warrant for Representative Lee Jae-myeong Scheduled for the 26th
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Seong-min = Following the passage of the motion to arrest Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myeong by the National Assembly, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, scheduled the suspect’s interrogation (warrant review) for 10 a.m. on the 26th. However, if Representative Lee requests a postponement due to his health condition, the interrogation may be rescheduled. 2023.9.22 km7976@yna.co.kr
The prosecutors are not ruling out the possibility of reapplying for an arrest warrant.
Considering that political considerations, including the representative of the main opposition party, played a role in the court’s rejection of the warrant, the decision on whether to reapply should not solely be based on principles such as the fairness of the criminal procedure, seriousness of the case, and concerns about destroying evidence.
In this case, it might be worth considering reapplying for an arrest warrant by bolstering the evidence in the current case and adding charges, such as suspicion of illegal donations from Ssangbangwool Group.
The Central District Prosecutors Office could also take over the investigation of the ‘suspicion of preferential treatment for the Jeongja-dong hotel development project’ currently being conducted by the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office and request a joint arrest warrant.
This suspicion revolves around Seongnam City’s alleged provision of various preferential treatments during the construction of a tourist hotel on city-owned land in Jeongja-dong. Some argue that proving these accusations might be easier compared to similar suspicions in Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong.
However, reapplying for an arrest warrant is expected to face backlash from the opposition, who might label it as a ‘targeted investigation.’ Furthermore, if the arrest warrant is denied, the intensity of the backlash against the prosecution will increase, adding to the burden.
A prosecution official stated that no decisions have been made yet and explained, “We will comprehensively review the situation before determining the course of action.”
Execution time2023-10-03 13:37
In Daejang-dong, the indictment took place a month later… Possibility of re-claiming on principle
‘Separate indictments’ are also discussed due to differences in the level of explanation for each charge.
Representative Lee Jae-myeong receives a report on the status of the Gangseo-gu mayoral by-election
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Jeong-hoon = Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, receives a report on the status of the party’s Gangseo-gu mayoral by-election in Seoul from General Secretary Cho Jung-sik and Under-Secretary-General Lee Hae-sik at Green Hospital in Jungrang-gu, Seoul on the 28th. 2023.9.28 uwg806@yna.co.kr
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Bo-bae = After the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was dismissed, the prosecution is considering how to handle the case.
The prosecution’s position is that all possibilities are open, from indicting Representative Lee without remand to reapplying for an arrest warrant by adding additional charges.
However, given the reasons why the court rejected the arrest warrant and the political burden, neither is a simple option.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office 1 (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) reviewed the reasons for dismissing the arrest warrant for Rep. Lee and existing investigation records throughout the Chuseok holiday.
The prosecution’s option is to first strengthen the charges and indictment without detention.
The prosecution analyzes internally that, although the court rejected the arrest warrant, it decided that a significant part of the charges had been proven.
The prosecution previously charged Lee without custody on March 22 after the arrest warrant first requested in February for the Daejangdong and Seongnam FC suspects was automatically rejected because the National Assembly rejected the arrest motion.
Given this precedent, there is a possibility that CEO Lee will be charged without detention after a supplementary investigation that will last about a month, as was done at the time.
Although predictions that the government’s audit of the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office, which begins on the 11th of this month, will be variable, the prosecution official said, “The investigative team has a firm policy of investigating without being constrained by political timetables.”
Lee Hwa-young attends the questioning of the suspect before his arrest
(Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Hong Ki-won = KINTEX CEO Lee Hwa-young (former Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi-do), who is suspected of having received hundreds of millions in bribes from Ssangbangwool Group, will be held in Suwon District Court in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 27th Entered the Suwon District Prosecutors Office building to attend the suspect interrogation. 2022.9.27 [공동취재] xanadu@yna.co.kr
However, the fact that the court made different rulings regarding the degree of explanation for each of Representative Lee’s charges could be a source of concern for the prosecution.
In particular, the court noted that there is ‘room for dispute’ in the case of suspected payments to North Korea.
The court recognized the ‘arbitrariness of the prosecution’s statement’ regarding the controversial situation of former Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young (who was arrested and charged), but according to the Criminal Procedure Act which was amended in January last year, if the former Deputy Governor Lee denies the prosecution’s interrogation record in court, the evidence is not admissible
From the prosecution’s point of view, rather than hastily identifying the North Korean payment case, it might be a better strategy to watch the progress of former Vice Governor Lee’s trial and decide the direction of the supplementary investigation.
In this context, a ‘separate prosecution’ plan is being discussed, where cases such as the perjury teacher and Baekhyun-dong’s suspicions, which are assessed as having a relatively high level of justification, are brought to trial first .
Since the court has specifically stated that “the charge appears to be proven” regarding the charge of perjury, it is expected that there will be no difficulties in filing and maintaining the indictment.
In the case of Baekhyeon-dong, the court made a judgment that was somewhat reserved, saying that there was no direct evidence, but there is an opinion within the prosecution that there is no reason to postpone the indictment because it is believed that it has enough direct evidence.
If some cases are prosecuted first, there is a possibility that the transfer case to North Korea will be returned to the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, which was investigating it before.
The warrant review of representative Lee Jae-myeong decided on the 26th
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Seong-min = Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 22nd, the day after the National Assembly passed the motion to arrest Party leader Lee Jae-myeong Democratic of Korea. The Seoul Central District Court designated 10 am on the 26th as the date for the interrogation (warrant review) of the suspect prior to the arrest of CEO Lee. However, if Representative Lee requests a postponement of the date due to his health condition, there is a possibility that the questioning will be postponed. 2023.9.22 km7976@yna.co.kr
Prosecutors do not rule out reapplying for an arrest warrant.
As it appears that political considerations such as the representative of the main opposition party played a role in the court rejecting the warrant, a decision on whether or not to keep it should not be reconsidered based on principles such as the fairness of the criminal procedure. , the seriousness of the case, and concerns about destroying evidence?
In this case, there is a possibility to re-apply for an arrest warrant by strengthening the evidence of the current case and adding some charges, such as suspicion of illegal donations from Ssangbangwool Group.
The Central District Prosecutors Office can take over the ‘suspicion of preferential treatment for the Jeongja-dong hotel development project’, which is being investigated by the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, and reapply for an arrest warrant together.
This suspicion is that Seongnam City provided various preferential treatment in the process of building a tourist hotel on city-owned land in Jeongja-dong, and some say that it is easier to prove the accusations than similar suspicions in Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong .
However, if the arrest warrant is requested again, the backlash from the opposition who call it a ‘targeted investigation’ is expected to intensify, and if the arrest warrant is refused, the intensity of the backlash that will receives it also increases, which is a burden.
The prosecution official said, “Nothing has been decided yet,” and added, “We will review the situation comprehensively and then decide on the future direction.”
bobae@yna.co.kr
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