Detained Former Reporter Dongjae Lee... "Will Not Respond to Prosecutor's Investigation"

Former Channel A reporter Dongjae Lee, who was indicted on the 5th by the prosecution in connection with the suspicion of 'collusion between the prosecution and the media.' / Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] On the 5th, former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae, who was indicted in custody by the prosecution over the 'alleged collusion between prosecutors and media,' stated that he "will not respond to any future summons or additional evidence collection by the prosecution." He intends to settle the dispute in an open trial.

On the same day, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung) indicted Lee on charges of attempted coercion under the Criminal Act, and indicted his junior reporter Baek on the same charges without detention.

Lee is accused of sending five letters to Lee Cheol, former CEO of Value Invest Korea (VIK) and major shareholder of SillaJen, threatening him by mentioning the possibility of investigation into his family and demanding that he report corruption allegations against Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation.

Lee’s side issued a statement regarding the prosecution’s decision to indict him in custody, saying, "Considering the acquittal intentions of recent Supreme Court rulings, it is clear that this case does not involve a specific threat of harm sufficient to suppress or overpower the other party’s will." They added, "We have cooperated with the investigation by attending nine summonses and observing forensic procedures four times, and since the issuance of the arrest warrant, there has been no new meaningful evidence or change in position."

Regarding the prosecution’s indictment of junior reporter A without detention, they said, "We believe indicting the junior reporter as an accomplice is inconsistent with the evidence and constitutes an abuse of prosecutorial authority."

Since the case has been brought to trial, Lee’s side also expressed their intention to focus on exercising the right to defense as the defendant. They stated, "We will not respond at all to any future summons or additional evidence collection by the prosecution. We will clearly settle the dispute of this case in an open trial."

Regarding the allegations of collusion with Chief Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, whom the prosecution mentioned it would "continue to investigate," they expressed "regret and concern over the decision to ignore the 'overwhelming recommendation' of the investigation review committee and continue the investigation despite the fact that there is no collusion between the prosecution and the media."

Meanwhile, the investigation team probing the 'alleged collusion between prosecutors and media' did not include Chief Prosecutor Han’s involvement in the indictment on this day. Although a court-issued search warrant was obtained for Han’s mobile phone, the investigation has been prolonged due to non-cooperation, such as refusal to disclose the password, preventing the start of forensic analysis. Therefore, they decided to proceed with additional investigation to clearly determine whether there was collusion before handling the case.

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