Prosecution Seeks 1 Year 6 Months Imprisonment for Former Channel A Reporter Lee Dong-jae on 'Attempted Coercion' Charge

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution has demanded a prison sentence for former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae, who was indicted for attempting to coerce a source into revealing misconduct information about Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation.

On the 14th, at the trial of former reporter Lee held under the presiding of Judge Hong Chang-woo of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1, the prosecution requested the court to "sentence the defendant to 1 year and 6 months in prison." For the junior reporter Baek, who was also indicted, the prosecution sought a 10-month prison sentence.

The prosecution argued, "Mentioning the possibility of criminal punishment to the detained victim and speaking about the prosecution is a clear violation of journalistic ethics and an illegal act," adding, "Defendant Lee Dong-jae's claim that the victim was not intimidated is merely an attempt to distort the essence."

Former reporter Lee is accused of attempted coercion for sending five letters to Lee Cheol (56, currently incarcerated), former representative of Value Invest Korea (VIK) and major shareholder of SillaJen, mentioning the possibility of investigation into his family and forcing him to "tip off about Chairman Yoo's corruption allegations," but failing to succeed.

This case was dubbed the 'Prosecutor-Media Collusion Case' after allegations surfaced that Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon conspired with former reporter Lee, but the prosecution did not specify any conspiracy charges with Prosecutor Han when indicting Lee, nor did they indict Prosecutor Han.

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