Sajunmo Files Reconsideration Request in Lee Jae-myung and Jeong Jin-sang's 'Hwang Mu-seong Resignation Coercion' Accusation Case... "About 20 Days Left Before Statute of Limitations"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] A civic group that filed a complaint with the prosecution against Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Jeong Jin-sang, Deputy Chief of the Democratic Party’s Election Countermeasures Committee Secretariat, on charges of coercing Hwang Mu-seong, then president of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, to resign ahead of the full-scale promotion of the 2015 Daejang-dong development project, has applied to the court for a ruling (재정, a judicial decision on the propriety of a matter) citing the imminent expiration of the statute of limitations.

The ruling application system allows a complainant or an accuser in cases such as abuse of authority to request a court ruling when they receive a non-prosecution notice from the prosecutor. If the court deems the ruling application reasonable and decides to prosecute the case, it is legally considered as if prosecution has been initiated. This system aims to prevent the abuse of the prosecutor’s exclusive right to prosecute and ensure fair exercise of prosecutorial authority.

Typically, ruling applications are made after a prosecutor’s non-prosecution decision and subsequent appeal under the Prosecution Service Act. However, in cases like this where the prosecutor does not file charges even 30 days before the statute of limitations expires, the complainant or accuser can directly apply for a ruling. In such cases, the statute of limitations is suspended until the ruling decision is finalized.

Upon receiving the ruling application, the head of the district prosecutor’s office or branch office must immediately prosecute if the application is deemed reasonable and notify the competent high court and the applicant. If deemed unreasonable, they must submit the ruling application, investigation records, and evidence to the competent high court within 30 days.

The civic group Judicial Examination Preparation Students’ Association (Sajunmo, Representative Kwon Min-sik) submitted the ruling application regarding the complaint against candidate Lee and Deputy Chief Jeong to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on the morning of the 14th.

Upon arriving at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, to submit the ruling application that morning, Representative Kwon stated, "If an ordinary person had committed the same crime, the prosecution would have surely obtained an arrest warrant and proceeded with the arrest, but it seems they are hesitant because these are powerful figures and their close associates."

In the ruling application, Sajunmo pointed out, "The statute of limitations for the abuse of authority or coercion charges against the respondents at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office will expire in about 20 days," and added, "However, despite the imminent expiration of the statute of limitations, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has not even properly summoned candidate Lee and Deputy Chief Jeong."

Sajunmo stated, "After the applicant filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the Anti-Corruption and Strong Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office accepted the case on October 27 last year. The recording submitted by former President Hwang to the prosecution appears to have been made around February 6, 2015, and the statute of limitations for the respondents’ alleged crimes of abuse of authority or coercion is seven years, meaning it will expire in about 20 days, after which the respondents cannot be punished."

They continued, "If the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office recognizes the ruling application as reasonable, please immediately prosecute and notify the Seoul High Court and the applicant of this decision. If deemed unreasonable, please submit the related investigation records to the Seoul High Court within 30 days."

Sajunmo also pointed out, "The recently deceased former head Yuhan-gi, under the instructions of former head Yoo Dong-gyu, Deputy Chief Jeong Jin-sang, and candidate Lee Jae-myung, coerced the victim (former President Hwang Mu-seong), who still had a remaining term, to submit a resignation letter, as revealed in the recordings held by the prosecution. Although Deputy Chief Jeong was not the Seongnam mayor who appointed former President Hwang, he was known as one of the closest aides to then-Mayor Lee Jae-myung (commonly referred to as ‘Jin-sang on the left, Dong-gyu on the right’) and held a position of significant influence. Former head Yoo Dong-gyu, who traveled abroad with candidate Lee for nine nights and eleven days and served as the Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, was in a lower position than the victim but exerted strong influence over the Daejang-dong development project, including involvement in the selection of project operators, as revealed by the prosecution’s investigation."

They added, "The respondents conspired to urge the victim, who still had a remaining term, to resign, and as a result, the victim actually submitted a resignation letter. Such coercion constitutes abuse of authority, and since the victim submitted the resignation letter without legal obligation, all respondents are considered accomplices in the abuse of authority. However, since former head Yuhan-gi is deceased, the prosecution is expected to issue a non-prosecution disposition."

Earlier, Sajunmo filed complaints with the prosecution on October 24 last year based on media reports about recordings involving former President Hwang Mu-seong and former Development Project Director Yuhan-gi, who recently died by suicide, accusing Deputy Chief Jeong, former head Yoo, former Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, candidate Lee, and related parties of Hwacheon Daeyu and Cheonhwa Dongin of abuse of authority (primary charge) or coercion (alternative charge).

Additionally, on October 31 last year, they filed complaints against candidate Lee, former head Yoo Dong-gyu, and major shareholder Kim Man-bae of Hwacheon Daeyu for breach of trust under the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act, and on the 11th of this month, they filed complaints against candidate Lee and Deputy Chief Jeong for breach of trust under the Specific Economic Crimes Act.

The dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon) handling the related cases has planned to summon Deputy Chief Jeong for questioning and has been coordinating schedules since last year. However, investigations have not yet taken place as Deputy Chief Jeong’s side has postponed appearances citing election schedules and other reasons.

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