Prosecutors Decline to Indict Former Southern District Chief and Others Accused by Kim Seong-tae of 'Disclosure of Suspect Facts'

On July 23 last year, Kim Seong-tae, then a member of the Liberty Korea Party, held a solo protest in front of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, condemning the prosecutors who investigated him on charges of illegally hiring his daughter at KT.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Former Liberty Korea Party (now People Power Party) lawmaker Kim Seong-tae's accusations that prosecutors leaked his alleged involvement in his daughter's KT irregular hiring to the media during the investigation have been dismissed, with the prosecutor general, deputy prosecutor, and chief prosecutor he sued all cleared of charges.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Heo In-seok) recently decided not to indict three individuals Kim sued for disclosing investigation details: former Seoul Southern District Prosecutor General Kwon Ik-hwan, former 2nd Deputy Kim Beom-gi (currently a prosecutor at Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office), and former Chief of Criminal Division 6 Kim Young-il (currently Chief of Criminal Division 1 at Jeju District Prosecutors' Office).

Previously, Kim was under investigation by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on bribery charges for allegedly requesting his daughter's hiring in exchange for blocking the appointment of former KT Chairman Lee Seok-chae as a National Assembly audit witness.

During the investigation, Kim accused the prosecution of deliberately leaking his alleged involvement to the media and filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against the three prosecutors in charge of the investigation, including former Prosecutor General Kwon.

However, the police forwarded the case to the prosecution with a recommendation not to indict, and the prosecution also decided not to indict due to insufficient evidence.

Meanwhile, the Southern District Prosecutors' Office indicted Kim on bribery charges, but he was acquitted in the first trial in January this year, and the second trial is currently ongoing following the prosecution's appeal.

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