Prosecutor Lee Gyuwon: "Bonguk's Order for 'Kim Hak-ui Illegal Detention' Supported by Considerable Evidence"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who is on trial for allegedly unlawfully prohibiting former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui from leaving the country, repeatedly asserted that there is evidence proving he received prior instructions from Bong Wook, then Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

On the 18th, Prosecutor Lee posted on his social media service (SNS), "My key defense in the Kim Hak-ui departure ban case is that I received prior instructions from the then Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office," adding, "There are quite a few statements and materials supporting this."

Earlier, at the first preparatory hearing on abuse of authority charges held on the 7th at the Seoul Central District Court, Prosecutor Lee also claimed through his lawyer, "The person who made the decisions and gave instructions at the time was the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office." He reiterated this claim via SNS about two weeks later.

Prosecutor Lee also stated, "The office where I was dispatched to work was assigned one and a half years after the departure ban, so there should be no related materials, and my belongings in the office are only slippers, yet the prosecution investigation team conducted a strict and noisy search as if to seize evidence but left empty-handed."

He continued, "The defense of 'that person' (former Deputy Chief Bong Wook), who claims not to remember the situation at the time, does not seem very credible, yet there were no forced investigations, summons, or confrontations with related parties, and only I was abruptly indicted," he pointed out.

Prosecutor Lee wrote, "On the day I was indicted, they sent me a questionnaire asking for an additional statement, then submitted the indictment to the court after working hours in the evening," adding, "It feels like they concluded first and then investigated, whereas they should investigate first and then conclude." He then questioned, "Isn't it important for investigations to appear fair?"

Prosecutor Lee was indicted on charges of drafting an emergency departure ban request using a previously dismissed case number to stop former Deputy Minister Kim from attempting to leave the country late at night on March 22, 2019, while working with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Team, and of listing a non-existent investigation number on the subsequent approval request.

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