Court Decides Not to Extend Jeong Gyeongshim's Detention Period...Prosecution "Committed to Maintaining Indictment" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The court has decided not to extend the detention period of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University, who was arrested and indicted on charges including admission fraud involving her children and suspicions of private equity funds.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Presiding Judges Lee Jeong-yeop, Kwon Seong-su, Kim Seon-hee) announced on the 8th that it would not issue an additional detention warrant for Professor Jeong.

Accordingly, Professor Jeong will be released on the night of the 10th, when her six-month detention period ends.

The court explained the reason, stating, "Considering that the defendant is unlikely to flee, and that evidence investigation has been conducted on the charges for which an additional detention warrant could be issued, such as forgery of Dongyang University certificates, reducing the possibility of evidence destruction, we have decided not to issue an additional detention warrant."

It added, "At the trial session scheduled for the 14th, the defendant, defense counsel, and prosecutor will be notified of the reasons for which an additional detention warrant could be issued (such as evidence destruction or flight risk)."

Regarding this court decision, the prosecution stated a general position, saying, "Regardless of whether the defendant is detained, we will make every effort to maintain the prosecution going forward."

As Professor Jeong's detention period approached its end, the prosecution requested the court to review whether to issue an additional detention warrant.

The charges presented by the prosecution as grounds for issuing a detention warrant include insider trading, nominee stock transactions, and instigation of evidence destruction. These were not included in Professor Jeong's initial detention warrant but were added during the indictment phase.

The prosecution argued that the seriousness of these crimes and the risk of evidence destruction are sufficiently recognized, and thus an additional detention warrant should be issued.

They also referenced major figures for whom additional warrants were issued, such as former President Park Geun-hye, Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), and former Deputy Director of the Court Administration Office Lim Jong-heon.

On the other hand, Professor Jeong's defense counsel opposed, stating, "Detaining someone by finding minor additional charges to try the main crimes is a typical case of separate detention."

After reviewing the arguments and charges from both sides, the court decided not to issue another detention warrant.

Previously, in March, the court had rejected Professor Jeong's bail request on the grounds that "there is a concern of evidence destruction."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.