Assignment of Judges for Cases Involving Lee Kwang-cheol, Lee Seong-yoon, Cha Gyu-geun, and Lee Gyu-won

Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Kwang-chul Lee. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The trial of Lee Kwang-cheol, the Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary, who was indicted for leading the illegal travel ban process against former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, will be handled by the same court that is currently hearing the cases of former Director Cha Gyu-geun of the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters at the Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who were previously indicted on the same charges. The trial of Seoul High Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon, who was also indicted for exerting external pressure during the investigation of Kim Hak-ui’s illegal travel ban, is also being conducted by this court.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Seoul Central District Court made a decision to assign the case of Secretary Lee, who was indicted without detention yesterday on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, to the Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il).

A panel trial is a procedure where, considering the importance of the case, it is assigned to a collegiate bench of three judges rather than a single judge.

The charge of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights applied to Secretary Lee carries a statutory minimum sentence of one year or less in prison, which normally classifies it as a case for a single judge. However, the Seoul Central District Court appears to have made this decision considering the gravity of the matter.

Secretary Lee is accused of leading the illegal travel ban by coordinating between former Director Cha and Prosecutor Lee after learning on March 22, 2019, that former Deputy Minister Kim attempted to leave the country while serving as a senior administrative officer at the Blue House Civil Affairs Office.

Additionally, Secretary Lee is also accused of exerting external pressure on the investigation when the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office began investigating Prosecutor Lee’s illegal travel ban charges in June 2019. Prosecutor Lee, who had a connection with Secretary Lee as they were classmates at the Judicial Research and Training Institute and worked at the same law firm, contacted Secretary Lee, who then reportedly asked then Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Cho Kuk to tell the prosecution to allow Prosecutor Lee to leave the country without investigation, as he was planning to study abroad soon.

These facts were revealed through the indictment of Prosecutor General Lee, who was previously indicted by the prosecution for exerting external pressure on the investigation.

Although the prosecution did not include the charge of exerting external pressure in Secretary Lee’s indictment yesterday, there remains a possibility of additional indictment.

Meanwhile, on the same day, President Moon Jae-in conditionally accepted Secretary Lee’s resignation. The resignation was accepted on the condition that the resignation date would be postponed until a successor for the Civil Affairs Secretary is appointed and the handover is completed to prevent any work gaps in the Civil Affairs Office.

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