Handonghun Faces Jeong Jinwoong in Court... "Right to Defense Was Crucial During Search"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office faced each other in court on the 21st. Prosecutor Han appeared as a witness, while Deputy Chief Jeong stood as the defendant in the same courtroom. It had been about 10 months since they had a physical altercation during the seizure and search of a mobile phone SIM card. During the approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes of the trial, they exchanged only a nod once and barely made eye contact.

Prosecutor Han, appearing in court as the victim and witness in Deputy Chief Jeong's charge of abuse of authority, said, "I believe this is a reasonable process to correct the mistakes of the past year." In court, he stated that "his series of actions related to the incident were in the exercise of his right to defense" and claimed that he was "unilaterally assaulted by Deputy Chief Jeong."

Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon is appearing as a witness at the trial related to the assault involving Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, held on the 21st at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Han Dong-hoon: "I Exercised My Right to Defense Against a Political Investigation"

On this day, Prosecutor Han testified as a witness at the trial of Deputy Chief Jeong held by the Criminal Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Yang Cheol-han), stating, "Not providing the mobile phone password during the seizure and search was an exercise of my right to defense." He also said, "At the time, then Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae exercised her authority to direct the investigation against me, which I could only interpret as a political investigation, so I thought I had to exercise my constitutional right to defense."

Regarding the situation during the seizure and search in July last year when the physical altercation with Deputy Chief Jeong occurred, he said, "It was right after the Investigation Deliberation Committee overwhelmingly recommended stopping the investigation, but they said they would conduct another seizure and search of the mobile phone (SIM card), which was absurd," adding, "I felt the exercise of my right to defense was urgent."

He claimed that when he requested to call his lawyer during the seizure and search, Deputy Chief Jeong rejected it by citing the Criminal Procedure Act clause stating that "in cases requiring urgency, the participation of a lawyer may be excluded," as if waiting for the opportunity. Prosecutor Han said, "I have conducted many searches, but excluding lawyer participation is unheard of in today's South Korea," and added, "I thought he was prepared because not many prosecutors know that clause."

Regarding the reason for requesting lawyer participation during the seizure and search, Prosecutor Han explained, "The Minister exercised the investigation directive authority for only the second time in history, and I was humiliatingly demoted to the Legal Research and Training Institute without any evidence of crime," expressing suspicion that "they were trying to fabricate the case with a frame, and I thought it would be difficult for the truth to come out without exercising my right to defense." He also criticized former Minister Choo's directive in November last year to consider the so-called 'mobile phone password disclosure law' as "extremely absurd and unconstitutional."

"The Situation Was So Ugly I Couldn't Even Be Hospitalized"

Prosecutor Han claimed that before the physical altercation, he picked up his mobile phone to contact his lawyer after getting permission from Deputy Chief Jeong. He alleged that while entering the phone password, Deputy Chief Jeong approached, grabbed his arm and shoulder, and pushed him down, pinning him under his body. When asked whether he acted in a way that could be seen as making a call or as evidence destruction, he denied it completely.

Deputy Chief Jeong reportedly claimed at the prosecution that "there was a concern about evidence deletion, so he tried to seize the phone directly, but Prosecutor Han made movements to prevent the phone from being taken." In response, Prosecutor Han argued, "I instinctively took defensive actions," and "I did not stretch out my arm to prevent the phone from being taken."

Prosecutor Han testified that he suffered injuries requiring three weeks of medical treatment due to Deputy Chief Jeong's assault. When asked why he refused hospitalization despite doctors' recommendations, he replied, "I thought it would look bad," adding, "I am a prosecutor, and so is Deputy Chief Jeong; with photos already public, being hospitalized would make the prosecution organization look ridiculous."

Jeong Jin-woong, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, indicted on charges of assaulting Prosecutor General Han Dong-hoon during a search and seizure operation
[Photo by Yonhap News]

"Jeong Jin-ung Suddenly Pounced on My Body"

Deputy Chief Jeong's lawyer, during cross-examination, asked questions aimed at eliciting testimony supporting the argument that the physical altercation during the seizure and search was a legitimate performance of official duties. They sought to confirm that Deputy Chief Jeong initially approached to see what was being entered on the phone and that Prosecutor Han tried to evade and resist. However, Prosecutor Han denied this, stating that "he immediately pounced on my body."

The lawyer asked, "On the day of the seizure and search, couldn't the phone lock have been unlocked by facial recognition? There was no need to enter the password manually," implying that Prosecutor Han's actions could be misunderstood as evidence destruction. Prosecutor Han denied this, saying, "At home, I use facial recognition because I don't need to wear a mask, but in the office where masks are worn, I use password input."

At the end of the questioning, the lawyer asked, "After getting permission from Deputy Chief Jeong to use the phone, didn't the time lengthen because you had to turn the phone back on and enter the password?" Prosecutor Han testified that Deputy Chief Jeong pounced when he had entered about 3 of the 20 digits of the password, and it happened very quickly. This was interpreted as a strategy to undermine the credibility of Prosecutor Han's testimony. However, Prosecutor Han responded, "As soon as I started entering the password, he came," and "to my memory, the time was very short."

Closing Arguments Next Month... Prosecution Requests Defendant's Examination

The prosecution announced its intention to examine Deputy Chief Jeong at the next trial session, citing inconsistencies in his testimony. However, Deputy Chief Jeong's side stated, "We will refuse to testify during the prosecution's examination." The court requested the prosecution to prepare for the examination considering the refusal to testify.

The court set June 28 as the next trial date and decided to close the arguments. Accordingly, at the next trial session, after completing the examination of the remaining witnesses and the defendant, the prosecution's sentencing recommendation and the defendant's final arguments are expected to proceed promptly.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Jeong was indicted on charges of assaulting Prosecutor Han, causing injuries requiring three weeks of medical treatment, during the seizure and search of Prosecutor Han's mobile phone SIM card on July 29 last year, related to the attempted coercion case involving former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae. Deputy Chief Jeong has denied the charges from the investigation stage, claiming it was a legitimate exercise of official duties to prevent evidence destruction.

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