Prosecutors to Overcome 'Indictment Leak' Suspicion and Possibly Indict Lee Gwang-cheol This Week

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Attention is focused on whether the prosecution will indict Lee Kwang-chul, the Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, who is suspected of being involved in illegally prohibiting former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui from leaving the country this week.

According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office investigation team (led by Lee Jung-seop, Head of Criminal Division 3) recently decided to indict Lee and reported this to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. It is known that once Deputy Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan (acting Prosecutor General) approves, they have firmly decided to proceed with the indictment immediately.

At this point, Lee’s indictment has become a foregone conclusion. The issue is the timing. The decision could be made quickly or delayed. The legal community views all possibilities as open.

There is a slightly higher possibility that the prosecution will hasten Lee’s indictment within this week.

To reduce the investigative burden on the incoming Prosecutor General and to prevent disputes over fairness, the prosecution is likely to try to conclude major investigations, including Lee’s case, before the new Prosecutor General’s inauguration. The fact that the investigation team might be disbanded due to personnel reshuffles immediately after the new Prosecutor General takes office also adds pressure to expedite Lee’s indictment.

Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, will have his confirmation hearing on the 26th. The new Prosecutor General could take office as early as the beginning of next month.

If delayed, it is possible that the ongoing investigation into the alleged leak of the indictment of Lee Sung-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, is having an impact.

Previously, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chief Prosecutor Lee on the same case. Lee is suspected of exerting pressure on the investigation into former Vice Minister Kim’s illegal travel ban. Upon indictment, Lee’s indictment was immediately disclosed to the media, raising suspicions of a leak. In response, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye ordered a fact-finding investigation, and Deputy Prosecutor General Cho promptly mobilized the inspection departments to investigate the leak’s circumstances.

The source and culprit of the leak have not yet been identified. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office confirmed that multiple prosecutors accessed the prosecution investigation system and viewed the indictment, but they have not yet found through whom the leak occurred. If, after the prosecution, Lee Kwang-chul’s indictment is also leaked, the controversy could grow even larger, adding to the burden. There is no guarantee that the indictment will not be leaked again while the fact-finding investigation is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, according to the prosecution and others, Lee is suspected of notifying Prosecutor Lee Kyu-won of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Past Affairs Investigation Team on the day of the incident, while serving as a senior administrative officer at the Blue House Civil Affairs Office in 2019, that “since there was an agreement with the Ministry of Justice, former Vice Minister Kim’s departure must be blocked,” after having foreseen Kim’s attempt to leave the country.

Additionally, he is under investigation by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for the so-called “planned investigation” allegations, which claim that he distorted and exaggerated the “Kim Hak-ui sexual bribery allegations” to cover up the 2018-2019 Burning Sun scandal, causing the media to report on it and damaging the honor of former and current prosecutors.

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