'Illegal Overseas Transfer of Kim Hak-eui' Lee Kwang-chul, Lee Kyu-won, Cha Gyu-geun First Trial Today... "Defendants Appear in Person"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first formal trial will be held for former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Lee Gwang-cheol, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, and Research Fellow Cha Gyu-geun of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, who were indicted for involvement in the illegal travel ban case of former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui.

According to the court on the 15th, at 10:30 a.m. that day, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Seon-il) will conduct the first trial of former Secretary Lee and others, who were indicted on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights. This is the first trial following four preparatory hearings, and all defendants are required to appear in court in person.

Former Secretary Lee was indicted in July on charges of leading the illegal travel ban through Research Fellow Cha and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee. He was indicted for leading the illegal travel ban measures by coordinating between Cha and Lee after learning on March 22, 2019, while serving as a senior administrative officer in the Blue House Civil Affairs Office, that former Vice Minister Kim, who was suspected of sexual bribery and bribery, attempted to leave the country.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee, who was previously indicted, is accused of blocking Kim’s departure by submitting an emergency travel ban request using a past case number that had been cleared of charges when Kim attempted a late-night departure, and of listing a non-existent investigation number on the subsequent approval request.

Research Fellow Cha is accused of approving the travel ban request the next day despite knowing that Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee had illegally imposed the emergency travel ban on former Vice Minister Kim. He is also accused of receiving reports on Kim’s personal information, such as name and date of birth, over a hundred times through officials from the Ministry of Justice’s Immigration Inspection Division.

Meanwhile, the case of Seoul High Prosecutor General Lee Seong-yoon, who was indicted on charges of exerting external pressure on the investigation into the illegal travel ban suspicion, is also being heard by the same court, and the first formal trial for him is scheduled for the 20th.

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