Yoon Gap-geun Claims Innocence in Appeal Trial... "Original Verdict Cannot Be Seen as Evidence-Based Judgment"

Lawyer Yoon Gap-geun [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Lawyer Yoon Gap-geun, a former Daegu High Prosecutors' Office chief who was sentenced to prison in the first trial for his involvement in the Lime Asset Management scandal, denied the charges and requested a complete acquittal in the appeal trial.

At the first appeal hearing held on the 14th at the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judge Seung-ryeon Lee), Yoon's defense attorney stated, "The original trial, which accepted the indictment based on indirect facts mixed with speculation, cannot be considered a trial based on evidence," adding, "From both factual and legal perspectives, the crime is not established, so we ask for the original verdict to be overturned." Previously, Yoon was indicted on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial.

The defense argued, "None of the charges in this case have been proven at all, and considering the scope of the defendant's profession as a lawyer, it does not constitute an act of mediation." They also said, "The original trial rejected the court testimony of former Lime Vice President Lee Jong-pil and accepted his statements made during the investigation by law enforcement. To discredit the credibility of the court testimony, there must be more reliable circumstances supporting the records created by a purpose-driven prosecutor, but this case does not meet that standard."

On the other hand, the prosecution countered, "The defendant's claims have already been fully discussed and thoroughly examined in the original trial." The prosecution stated, "The original trial comprehensively considered evidence such as recordings, documents, and phone calls, and found the prosecution's testimony more credible than former Vice President Lee's court testimony. Therefore, dismissal of the appeal is appropriate."

Yoon's defense team requested that former Vice President Lee Jong-pil and Metropolitan Chairman Kim Young-hong be called as witnesses in the appeal trial. The court said, "Since the credibility of former Vice President Lee's testimony is an issue in this appeal, the necessity of witness adoption is recognized," adding, "In the case of Chairman Kim, who is currently overseas, he will be accepted as a witness on the condition that if he does not return by the conclusion of the trial, the request will be withdrawn." The court scheduled the second hearing for the 25th of next month and decided to proceed with the witness examination of former Vice President Lee on that day.

Yoon was indicted last December on charges of receiving 220 million won from Lime Asset Management in July 2019 as a bribe for requesting the resale of Lime funds to Woori Bank. While Yoon admitted in the first trial that he met Woori Bank President Sohn Tae-seung, he denied the charges, claiming the money received was for legal advisory fees. However, the first trial court ruled that this exceeded the normal scope of a lawyer's professional activities, found him guilty, and sentenced him to prison.

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