Jung Jin-woong Appeals 1st Trial Guilty Verdict in 'Han Dong-hoon Official Violence' Case... "Will Appeal"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung of the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office, who was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial for assaulting Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon during a search and seizure, stated that he finds the verdict "difficult to accept" and plans to appeal.

On the afternoon of the 13th, Deputy Chief Jeong announced in a statement that he would file an appeal with the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Yang Cheol-han), which sentenced him to four months in prison with a one-year suspension and a one-year disqualification for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (official assault) the previous day.

The court ruled that "there was at least a minimal intent not only to take the mobile phone but also to exert physical force," and "the intent to assault cannot be denied." However, the court judged that Prosecutor Han did not suffer injury from Deputy Chief Jeong's official assault and applied the general official assault charge rather than the aggravated official assault under the special law, resulting in a guilty verdict.

In response, Deputy Chief Jeong argued, "The defendant took necessary measures at the time due to concerns of evidence destruction, which was an official act under the law," and "there was no minimal intent for official assault." He further claimed, "If the judgment, decision, or action of judicial officials is not an abuse of authority, the appropriateness of such actions cannot be the basis for criminal liability, nor can minimal intent for abuse of authority be recognized to impose criminal responsibility."

Earlier, Deputy Chief Jeong was prosecuted on charges of official assault for assaulting Prosecutor Han during the seizure of a mobile phone SIM card in July last year as part of the investigation into the 'media-prosecution collusion' allegations. Official assault refers to prosecutors or police officers abusing their authority during investigations to arrest, assault, or commit harsh acts against suspects or others.

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