Former Dongbu District Prosecutor Han Chan-sik: "Lee Seong-yoon contacted me after Kim Hak-ui's travel ban, asking for understanding"

Prosecutor's Statement Record Released... "Understood as a Request for Withdrawal Approval and Ratification"
At Lee Seong-yoon's Request, "Please Do Not Link It to Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Testimony has emerged that Lee Seong-yoon, then head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and currently Seoul High Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor, contacted the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office Chief Prosecutor, who was the authorized official to request a travel ban, asking for understanding to resolve the illegal travel ban incident involving former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui.

On the 13th, Han Chan-sik, former District Prosecutor, appeared as a witness at the trial of Lee, who is charged with abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, held by the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon).

During the trial, the prosecution disclosed a statement record. In the investigation, former District Prosecutor Han testified that "around 7 a.m. on March 23, 2019, I received a phone call from Lee, who was then head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."

In the investigation, former District Prosecutor Han stated, "Lee said that former Deputy Minister Kim tried to leave the country overnight but was banned from doing so, and that a case number from the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office had been assigned in the process, asking for understanding."

When the prosecution presented the statement record during witness examination and asked, "How did you interpret the request for understanding?" former District Prosecutor Han replied, "As I understood it, a travel ban request must be made by the head of an investigative agency, so I interpreted it as a request to understand or approve the travel ban request that was made without my knowledge."

When the prosecution asked, "Do you recall whether the defendant (Lee) used any specific words, and did you understand it as a request for approval as the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office?" former District Prosecutor Han answered, "Yes."

When asked how he responded to Lee's request at the time, former District Prosecutor Han explained, "I said that the Past Affairs Investigation Team at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office was not related to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office and asked not to link the two."

During cross-examination, Lee's defense attorney asked, "Did the defendant ask the witness to handle the matter so that there would be no procedural issues or controversies about illegality?" former District Prosecutor Han replied, "He did not say that specifically."

When the defense attorney asked, "Did you understand it as a request to handle the matter without problems?" former District Prosecutor Han answered, "I understood it as such a request."

Regarding the prosecution's question about whether he knew about Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won's process of entering the case number during the travel ban of former Deputy Minister Kim, former District Prosecutor Han said, "I had no knowledge at all." He also testified that he had "never seen" the urgent travel ban request bearing his name and only learned about it later through media reports.

The court plans to summon Moon Hong-seong, current head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division and former senior researcher of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the time of the travel ban on former Deputy Minister Kim, as a witness for questioning at the trial scheduled for the 17th of next month.

Prosecutor Lee, who was part of the Past Affairs Investigation Team, was indicted on charges including forgery and use of false official documents after requesting an urgent travel ban from the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters on March 22, 2019, when former Deputy Minister Kim attempted to leave the country, using a request letter written in the name of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office Chief Prosecutor. Lee was brought to trial on charges of covering up the incident after the Criminal Division 3 of the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office reported in June of the same year that there were signs the travel ban on former Deputy Minister Kim was illegally imposed and intended to investigate the matter.

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