Court Rejects Request to Suspend Trial of Lee Eun-hae in 'Valley Murder' Case

Decision Trial Scheduled for the 23rd to Proceed as Planned

Suspects Lee Eun-hae and Jo Hyun-soo in the Valley Murder Case
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The court has rejected Lee Eun-hae's (31) request to temporarily suspend the trial related to the valley murder case.

On the 21st, the 15th Criminal Division of the Incheon District Court (Chief Judge Lee Gyu-hoon) announced that it dismissed the joint defense counsel's application to suspend the trial procedure for Lee and her accomplice Jo Hyun-soo (30), who were indicted on charges including murder. The court considered temporarily halting the trial to guarantee the right to defense following recent changes to the indictment but decided to proceed as scheduled, taking into account the detention period and other factors. Earlier, the prosecution had requested to amend the indictment by adding charges of 'murder by omission' to the existing 'murder by commission' charges against Lee and Jo, which the court approved on the 1st.

The joint defense counsel for Lee and others argued, "With the addition of the murder by omission charge, it is necessary to review the duty to rescue, which had not been a major issue until now," and requested the court to suspend the trial proceedings. However, the prosecution opposed this, stating, "Sufficient examination has been conducted during the witness questioning process," and asked the court to dismiss the defense's application. Following the court's dismissal of the suspension request, the witness questioning scheduled for the 22nd and the closing arguments on the 23rd will proceed as planned.

Lee was arrested and indicted on charges including the murder of her husband, Yoon (39 at the time of death), on June 30, 2019, at around 8:24 p.m. in Yongsogye Valley, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, along with her lover Jo. The prosecution concluded that they forced Yoon, who could not swim, to jump from a 4-meter-high rock into a 3-meter-deep valley pool without rescue equipment, resulting in his death. The prosecution determined that the crime was planned with the intent to claim 800 million won in life insurance money under Yoon's name. Lee and Jo disappeared before the prosecution's second investigation on December 14 last year and were apprehended by the police four months later in April near Samsong Station in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, at an officetel.

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