Kim Ki-chun Receives Suspended Sentence Again in Appeal Trial for Sewol Ferry Report Manipulation

Kim Jang-su and Kim Kwan-jin Also Acquitted as in the Original Trial

Former Blue House Chief of Staff Kim Ki-chun [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-chun, who was indicted for falsifying the time and method of the Sewol ferry disaster, was sentenced to a suspended prison term again in the second trial.

The Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-geun) on the afternoon of the 9th sentenced former Chief Kim Ki-chun, who was indicted for forging official documents, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, the same as in the first trial. Former Blue House National Security Office Chiefs Kim Jang-soo and Kim Kwan-jin, who were also indicted, were acquitted as in the original trial.

Former Chief Kim Ki-chun was tried on charges of submitting false information to the National Assembly regarding whether former President Park Geun-hye was receiving real-time reports during the Sewol ferry disaster on April 16, 2014, and the time of the first telephone report.

Former Chief Kim Kwan-jin was charged with damaging official documents by unlawfully changing the presidential directive (Basic Guidelines for National Crisis Management), which stated that the Blue House was the control tower for national crisis management, without following proper procedures.

According to the prosecution's investigation, the written report reached the presidential residence where former President Park was staying at around 10:19 to 10:20 a.m. on the day of the accident, and former Chief Kim Jang-soo made the first telephone report to former President Park at 10:22 a.m.

The first trial recognized former Chief Kim Ki-chun's charges as guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. Former Chiefs Kim Jang-soo and Kim Kwan-jin were acquitted due to reasons such as not being aware that the documents were false or lack of evidence.

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