The First Formal Trial of the United Party on the 'National Assembly Fast-Track' Postponed Again to the 21st of Next Month

Measures Taken Following COVID-19 Impact and Recommended Suspension Period
27 Defendants, Trials Conducted in Groups of 8 to 10

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The formal trial of the Future United Party (formerly the Liberty Korea Party) officials indicted over the National Assembly Fast Track (rapid processing agenda) clash has been postponed again. This is due to the court deciding to take a recess amid the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Lee Hwan-seung) postponed the trial date for 27 defendants, including former leader Hwang, who are charged with obstruction of official duties, from 10 a.m. on the 31st to September 21. This measure follows the Court Administration Office's recommendation to flexibly manage trial dates during a two-week recess period from August 24 to September 4, considering the nationwide spread of COVID-19.

All 27 defendants, including former leader Hwang, former floor leader Na, and lawmakers Yoon Han-hong, Lee Man-hee, Kim Jeong-jae, Song Eon-seok, Kwak Sang-do, Lee Cheol-gyu, Kim Tae-heum, Jang Je-won, Park Seong-jung, former lawmakers Kang Hyo-sang, Kim Myeong-yeon, Min Kyung-wook, Jeong Gap-yoon, Jeong Yang-seok, Jeong Yong-gi, Jeong Tae-ok, Kim Seon-dong, Kim Seong-tae, Yoon Sang-jik, Lee Eun-jae, Lee Jang-woo, Hong Cheol-ho, and three aides, are scheduled to appear.

So far, four trial sessions have been held, but since they were preparatory hearings without mandatory attendance, none of the involved parties have appeared. Although the prosecution indicted them in early January this year, the trial schedule was delayed due to the vast amount of video evidence submitted by the prosecution and the large number of people involved in the case. The video evidence submitted by the prosecution reportedly amounts to 6TB (terabytes), with reclassified data reaching 917GB (gigabytes).

However, to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection, the court decided to divide the defendants into groups of 8 to 10 for the trial. Therefore, at 10 a.m. on September 21, former floor leader Na and former lawmaker Min Kyung-wook and 8 others will appear; at 2 p.m., former leader Hwang and 9 others; and at 4 p.m., former lawmakers Kim Seong-tae and Jang Je-won and 10 others will stand in court.

Meanwhile, the 27 defendants, including former leader Hwang, were indicted on charges related to the Fast Track clash incident, such as obstructing the receipt of bills and the meetings of the Special Committee on Judicial Reform (Saege Special Committee) in the National Assembly. Former lawmakers Pyo Chang-won and Park Beom-gye, Democratic Party officials indicted and brought to trial for the same incident, will have their first trial on September 23.

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