Choi Se-won, Former Prosecutor, Formed Luxurious Legal Team but Could Not Avoid Detention

Mostly composed of prosecutors including the chief prosecutor
Contrasting with Lee Jae-yong and Lee Woong-yeol who recruited former judges
Court issues warrant... Ultimately backfires

Chairman Choi Shin-won of SK Networks Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy reporters Seongpil Cho and Daehyun Kim] Choi Cheol-won, chairman of SK Networks, took the step of appointing a large number of prosecutors-turned-lawyers for his pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review) on the 17th. At the critical crossroads of whether to be detained or not, conglomerates or politicians have traditionally preferred lawyers with judicial backgrounds. From Chairman Choi's perspective, this was a bold move, but in the legal community, it is said that this ultimately resulted in a misstep. Chairman Choi was detained that afternoon.

On the day of the warrant review, Chairman Choi appeared at the court accompanied by Lee Jung-hoon, lead attorney of the law firm Samwoo, and Kim In-sook of the law firm M, all of whom were former prosecutors. Lee served as head of the first trial division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office before opening his own practice in August 2019, and Kim left the prosecution last August after working at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office. Chairman Choi also appointed several other lawyers, most of whom were former prosecutors. Among them was even a former chief prosecutor.

During the warrant review, which lasted about 3 hours and 40 minutes from 10 a.m., Chairman Choi's legal team argued that there was no risk of flight. However, Won Jeong-sook, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued the detention warrant citing "concerns over evidence tampering." In the legal community, there were remarks that "the all-prosecutor composition of the defense team was the cause of the misstep." It is analyzed that they failed to build a mutually complementary defense logic from various perspectives such as the court and prosecution.

Conglomerates have traditionally exercised their right to defense by appointing former prosecutors during investigations and former judges during trials. Before warrant reviews, they also urgently bring in lawyers with judicial backgrounds. One lawyer said, "What conglomerates fear most is detention," adding, "While there is a concept of preferential treatment for former officials, the strategy is to avoid detention by appointing judges who are well-versed in legal principles."

Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics and former Kolon Group Chairman Lee Woong-yeol also avoided detention by bringing in lawyers with judicial backgrounds during their warrant reviews. Before the warrant review, Vice Chairman Lee appointed lawyer Han Seung, a former chief judge of Jeonju District Court, and former Chairman Lee appointed lawyer Kim Hyun-seok, a former senior judicial research officer of the Supreme Court, to avoid detention.

Following the issuance of the detention warrant, Chairman Choi is reported to have immediately undergone detention procedures at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, where he had been held on remand. He is expected to be detained for up to 20 days for investigation before being indicted. Once the case leaves the prosecution's hands and moves to court, a strategic shift focusing on "trial defense rights" will be inevitable. However, it is not yet known whether Chairman Choi's side will reorganize the legal team for the upcoming trial.

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