[Breaking] Supreme Court: "Hiring a Butler Lawyer for Personal Errands Does Not Constitute Obstruction of Official Duties by Deception"… Reversal and Remand in Former Representative Choi Kyuseon's Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Supreme Court has ruled that even if a detainee hired a personal lawyer and used attorney visits to receive company-related documents unrelated to the trial, it does not constitute the crime of obstruction of official duties by deception.

On the 30th, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) overturned the previous ruling that found Choi Gyu-seon, former CEO of UI Energy, guilty of obstruction of official duties by deception in the appeal trial for charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

The court stated, "When a detainee's lawyer requests an attorney visit from a correctional officer, the correctional officer is not authorized to examine what specific defense activities the lawyer conducts regarding the detainee's criminal case, whether the lawyer has the actual intention to provide a defense, or what documents are exchanged during the visit. Furthermore, the conversations between the detainee and the lawyer during the visit are not subject to the correctional officer's surveillance or supervision. Therefore, it is difficult to consider the defendant's actions as 'deception' or to view that they concretely and realistically obstructed the correctional officer's official duties."

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