Supreme Court Upholds Bail for Former Comart Trade CEO Lee Jun-seok, Rejects Re-Appeal

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that the decision to grant bail to former Komatrade CEO Lee Jun-seok, who was indicted on charges of operating an illegal internet gambling site, is appropriate. Lee, a former member of the 'Gukje Mafia Group,' had been suspected of collusion with Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate.

According to the legal community on the 4th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) dismissed the re-appeal filed by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 28th of last month, which argued that Lee's bail decision could not be accepted.

Lee was indicted on charges of operating illegal gambling sites in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and Qingdao, China, from May 2011 to November 2017. The first trial sentenced Lee to seven years in prison, a fine of 5 million won, and confiscation of approximately 4.183 billion won, and he was taken into custody in court.

However, Lee was released after the bail he requested during the appeal was granted. The prosecution repeatedly filed appeals and re-appeals, arguing that "the defendant was sentenced to a heavy punishment, shows no remorse, and poses a flight risk," but these were dismissed. Accordingly, Lee will stand trial while out on bail.

Meanwhile, last year, Lee claimed through a broadcasting station that in 2017, the Violent Crimes Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office pressured him to testify about the misconduct of then Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung during their investigation.

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