Prosecutors Indict Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won Without Detention for Falsifying Yoon Joong-chun Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] Prosecutor Lee Gyuwon, who was suspected of falsifying the interview report of construction businessman Yoon Joongcheon during the investigation of former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's sexual bribery case and leaking related information, has finally been indicted.

On the 28th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Seonhyeok) announced that Prosecutor Lee was indicted without detention on charges of falsification of official documents, use of falsified official documents, disclosure of official secrets, and obstruction of business.

The prosecution believes that Prosecutor Lee, who was active in the Past Affairs Investigation Team of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office from November 2018 to May 2019, falsified the interview report with Yoon, a party involved in the former Vice Minister Kim's case, and distributed it to the media. In particular, the investigation revealed that Prosecutor Lee wrote false facts that Yoon did not mention during the interview in the report, then gave printed copies containing this content to reporters or informed them of the details.

Earlier, while investigating a case in which former Daegu High Prosecutor General Yoon Gapgeun and former lawmaker Kwak Sangdo had filed complaints against Prosecutor Lee for defamation and insult, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office became aware of the circumstances of Prosecutor Lee's falsified report and referred the matter to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). According to the CIO Act, investigative agencies that discover allegations of high-ranking public officials' crimes by prosecutors must refer the case to the CIO.

The CIO, which took over Prosecutor Lee's case, assigned it to Investigation Division 3 after assigning the case number '2021 Gongje 3' in May and began the investigation. After summoning Prosecutor Lee several times in the first half of this year, the CIO completed the investigation on the 17th and referred the case back to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

A prosecution official stated, "Since the cases investigated by both the prosecution and the CIO are closely related, to ensure consistent handling of the case, the CIO re-referred the case after consultation between the agencies, and the prosecution indicted Prosecutor Lee after comprehensively reviewing the evidence, legal relations, and the purpose of the re-referral. Investigations of other related suspects will continue."

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