Channel A Case Whistleblower "Han Dong-hoon Should Be Prosecuted"… Court Tells Them "Don't Overdo It"

Former reporter Dongjae Lee [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The whistleblower in the 'Channel A incident' was stopped by the court after claiming that the person who should be standing trial in this case is Han Dong-hoon, the Minister of Justice, during the trial of former reporter Lee Dong-jae.

The so-called 'Whistleblower X,' Ji Mo, appeared as a witness at the trial of former reporter Lee held on the 17th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 9 (Presiding Judge Yang Kyung-seung) and said, "The person who should be in the defendant's seat in this trial is Han Dong-hoon." Ji's statement came in response to the court's question, "Do you think all the conversations you had with Lee Dong-jae were conveyed to former Value Invest Korea (VIK) CEO Lee Cheol?" Ji replied to the court's question, "I am not the messenger, so it is difficult for me to say," but added the claim. The court stopped Ji's sudden remark, saying, "Please do not overdo it," but Ji insisted again, "I am not overdoing it. The prosecutors who indicted on attempted coercion should reflect."

At the trial that day, Ji was questioned by the prosecution and the court about the circumstances under which he met former reporter Lee in March 2020 as a representative of former CEO Lee Cheol. He said he learned through the former CEO's lawyer that Lee Cheol had received a letter from Lee Dong-jae and said, "At that time, I thought Lee Dong-jae was a swindler, not a reporter." He continued, "I have experience being detained, and sometimes people approached detainees saying 'I will take care of things' and demanded money, so I thought it was a legal broker or that Lee Cheol was being intimidated to extort money." Ji also said, "Lee Dong-jae mentioned 'Yoon Seok-yeol (then Prosecutor General's Office) associates, Busan High Prosecutors' Office,' and through searching, I found out that the person Lee mentioned was Han Dong-hoon, then Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Busan High Prosecutors' Office."

The court only conducted direct examination by the prosecution that day. Cross-examination by former reporter Lee's side is scheduled for the trial on the 24th of this month. Former reporter Lee was indicted on charges of attempted coercion for threatening former CEO Lee Cheol from January to March 2020 to make him testify about the corruption of ruling party figures related to ShillaJen, but was acquitted in the first trial. Minister Han was cleared of charges during the prosecution investigation. Ji was indicted in April this year on charges of spreading false information, claiming that "former Yongsan Tax Office chief Yoon Woo-jin demanded 10 billion won from former CEO Lee Cheol" and "some of it was delivered," and the first trial is ongoing.

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