'Disposal of Inter-Korean Summit Records' Case Returns to Supreme Court... Baek Jongcheon and Cho Myunggyun Submit Appeal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former Blue House officials from the Roh Moo-hyun administration, who were sentenced to suspended prison terms in the retrial for destroying the 2007 inter-Korean summit meeting records, have filed another appeal.

According to the legal community on the 15th, former Blue House Director of Foreign Affairs and Security Baek Jong-cheon and former Blue House Security Secretary Cho Myung-kyun submitted an appeal to the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 8 (Presiding Judges Bae Hyung-won, Kang Sang-wook, Bae Sang-won). Accordingly, the case regarding the destruction of the meeting records will undergo the court's judgment for the fifth time, following the first appeal trial and the retrial.

The case originated in October 2012 when then Saenuri Party lawmaker Jung Moon-heon sparked controversy during a National Assembly audit by claiming that former President Roh Moo-hyun made a statement about abandoning the Northern Limit Line (NLL) during the inter-Korean summit.

The prosecution alleged that former President Roh instructed Baek and others not to transfer the meeting records in order to conceal the 'NLL abandonment' statement, and that they deleted the draft of the meeting records. They were indicted without detention in November 2013.

The first and second trial courts acquitted former Director Baek, ruling that the deleted draft of the meeting records could not be considered 'presidential records.' However, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court for retrial with a guilty implication.

The retrial court found former Director Baek and former Secretary Cho guilty and sentenced each to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence.

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