Supreme Court Orders Retrial of "Won Se-hoon Acquittal on Abuse of Power" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that the original trial, which acquitted former National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Won Sei-hoon of abuse of authority charges, should be retried. The court emphasized that the case must be judged considering the purpose of the NIS Act, which stipulates stricter punishment for abuse of authority by NIS employees, and the special nature of NIS operations.

On the 11th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seonsu) overturned part of the ruling, including the acquittal on abuse of authority charges, in the appeal trial of former chief Won, who was indicted on charges including aggravated embezzlement of state funds and abuse of authority under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

Former chief Won was prosecuted for operating a covert team within the NIS during the Lee Myung-bak administration to conduct illegal surveillance and political operations targeting influential opposition politicians and civilians. Notably, he was also charged with allocating approximately 6.5 billion won of NIS budget to a civilian online comment operation unit and delivering 200 million won in special activity funds and 100,000 US dollars in cash to former President Lee Myung-bak.

The first trial recognized guilt for charges including budget support to the NIS and perjury, as well as providing 100,000 US dollars to former President Lee, sentencing Won to seven years in prison and seven years of disqualification. The second trial altered some judgments and sentenced Won to seven years in prison and five years of disqualification, including charges that he used a total of 2.8 billion won of NIS special activity funds to rent a suite room at a famous domestic hotel for personal purposes.

On this day, the Supreme Court found problems with the original court's judgment that acquitted or dismissed charges related to violations of the NIS Act due to abuse of authority against NIS employees by former chief Won. A representative example is the original court's acquittal of Won for ordering NIS staff to tail Mrs. Kwon Yang-sook and former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon during their overseas visits.

The original court judged that Won only had NIS officials assist in factual acts supporting his official duties and that the crime of violating the NIS Act due to abuse of authority was not established. However, the Supreme Court found this to be a legal error affecting the judgment and overturned the ruling. The court stated, "The order to tail corresponds to making NIS officials perform acts for which there is no legal obligation," and ruled that the original court's view of it as an 'act assisting official duties' was incorrect.

Additionally, regarding the surveillance of monk Myeongjin, for which the statute of limitations had passed and a dismissal ruling was made, the court stated that similar charges should be considered collectively. Since the statute of limitations has not expired when multiple acts are judged as one, the Supreme Court ruled that the original court must reexamine whether abuse of authority occurred.

Meanwhile, on the same day, former MBC president Kim Jae-cheol, who was tried together on conspiracy charges related to 'broadcasting control,' had his sentence of one year and six months in prison with three years probation upheld. Former head of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Seung-chun was also confirmed to have a two-year prison sentence with three years probation and two years of disqualification.

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