Kim Ki-chun: "Im Jong-heon Cannot Attend Trial as Witness Due to Heart Disease"... Another Absence Reported

Former Presidential 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 summoned as a witness in the trial of former Deputy Director of the Judicial Administration Office Lim Jong-heon for the 'abuse of judicial administrative power' case, did not appear in court. He once again refused to attend citing health reasons.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 36 (Presiding Judge Yoon Jong-seop) held a continuation hearing on the charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights against former Deputy Director Lim on the 31st. The morning session ended in less than 10 minutes. Former Chief of Staff Kim, who was scheduled to be questioned as a witness, expressed his intention not to attend. In a letter of absence submitted on the 25th, Kim stated, "I suffer from a serious heart disease and frequently experience pain," and "the symptoms worsen when I am nervous, so it is difficult to attend."

Former Chief of Staff Kim was also summoned as a witness to former Deputy Director Lim’s trial in May last year. At that time, he also refused to attend for the same reasons. However, he did attend his own appellate trial sentencing hearing on the 9th of last month, where he was charged with manipulating the time and method of the Sewol ferry accident report after the fact.

On December 1, 2013, Kim Ki-chun presided over the 'first small number meeting' at the Chief of Staff’s official residence, calling in then Foreign Minister Yoon Byung-se, Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, and Judicial Administration Office Chief Cha Han-sung. It is known that the government side, including Kim, requested the judiciary at this meeting to delay the final ruling on the forced labor retrial as much as possible or refer it to the full bench, aiming to overturn the 2012 Supreme Court ruling that recognized the liability of wartime companies for compensation.

The court decided to summon former Chief of Staff Kim again on December 1 to conduct witness questioning. In the afternoon session on the same day, witness questioning of former Supreme Court Senior Judicial Researcher Hong Seung-myeon is underway.

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