'Kim Hak-ui Illegal Departure' Cha Gyu-geun and Lee Gyu-won First Trial Procedure Today

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Seong-pil] The first trial of Cha Gyu-geun, head of the Ministry of Justice Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters, and prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who were indicted for involvement in the illegal travel ban allegations against former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, will be held on the 7th.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il) will hold the first pretrial hearing for Cha and prosecutor Lee on that day. The pretrial hearing is a procedure to organize the evidence plan for the upcoming trial. Although the defendants are not obligated to attend, it is uncertain whether Cha and Lee will appear in court in person.

Prosecutor Lee is accused of blocking the departure of former Vice Minister Kim, who was suspected of sexual bribery and bribery, on March 22, 2019, by using an emergency travel ban request written with a past case number that had been cleared of charges, and of listing a non-existent investigation number on the subsequent approval request.

Head Cha is accused of approving the travel ban request the next day, knowing that prosecutor Lee had illegally imposed the emergency travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim. He is also accused of receiving reports on over a hundred occasions about personal information inquiries such as Kim’s name and date of birth through Ministry of Justice immigration inspection officials.

Head Cha has filed a constitutional complaint arguing that the prosecution’s indictment, ignoring the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Office (Hugo) transfer request, is unconstitutional. Some expect that Cha and prosecutor Lee will argue in court that the prosecution itself is invalid and demand dismissal of the charges.

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