'Handonghun's Official Misconduct' Charge: Jeong Jin-woong's Trial Concludes Today... What Is the Prosecutor's Sentence Request?

Jung Jin-woong, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The trial of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung of the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office, who is accused of assaulting Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon during a search and seizure operation, is coming to a close.

According to the court on the 9th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Yang Cheol-han) will hold the closing arguments for Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong at 10 a.m. that day. The closing arguments were originally scheduled for the 28th of last month but were postponed to this day because Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong, who had overlapped movements with a COVID-19 confirmed case, was absent due to undergoing testing.

Previously, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong was brought to trial on charges of official assault against Prosecutor Han during the seizure of a mobile phone SIM card in July last year as part of the investigation into the 'prosecutor-media collusion' allegations. Official assault refers to a prosecutor or police officer abusing their authority during an investigation to arrest, assault, or inflict harsh treatment on a suspect.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong's defense has consistently claimed innocence, arguing that the actions were intended to prevent Prosecutor Han from attempting to destroy evidence and that no assault occurred.

On the other hand, Prosecutor Han testified in court as a witness, stating that "not providing the mobile phone password during the search was an exercise of the right to defense." He added, "At the time, then Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae exercised her authority to direct the investigation against me, which I could only interpret as a political investigation, so I decided to exercise my constitutional right to defense."

During the trial, a video recorded immediately after the incident was played, showing Prosecutor Han shouting, "Didn't you show (the phone)?" and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong responding, "I asked to check it, but it wasn't given. What if they open it and manipulate it?" Additionally, when Prosecutor Han claimed, "Didn't you say you would call your lawyer? To call, you have to unlock (the screen with your hand)," Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong mentioned, "You usually use Face ID (facial recognition lock), don't you?"

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