Kim Bong-hyun's Lawyer on 'Prison Statement', Arrest Warrant Dismissed... "Room for Dispute on Criminal Charges"

An arrest warrant for a lawyer accused of involvement in the 2020 'prison statement release' by former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun (49) and subsequent retraction of testimony has been dismissed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At around 10:30 a.m. on the 10th, Judge Kim Ji-sook, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, held a pre-arrest detention hearing for lawyer Lee (49) of Saram Law Office and dismissed the arrest warrant against him. Lee is accused of false accusation, subornation of perjury, and violation of the Communications Privacy Protection Act.

The court stated, "Considering the timing and content of the testimony given by co-conspirator former Chairman Kim regarding the crime, there is room for the suspect to dispute the criminal charges," and judged that "detention at this stage would excessively restrict the suspect's right to defense." It added, "It is also difficult to see any risk of flight or evidence tampering by Lee."

According to the prosecution, the lawyer is suspected of advising former Chairman Kim in 2020 on releasing the 'prison statement' and later retracting his testimony, as well as encouraging false testimony in court.

The Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-dong) has been investigating after former Chairman Kim, who is currently incarcerated, recently retracted his testimony regarding the authenticity of the prison statement. The lawyer was involved in delivering Kim's prison statement to the media and became a subject of investigation. The prosecution conducted a search and seizure of the lawyer's office last month.

On October 16, 2020, former Chairman Kim released a statement exposing that he entertained politicians and incumbent prosecutors and claimed that the prosecution coerced him into testifying about former ruling party politicians. On October 8, 2020, in court, he testified that he handed over 50 million won to former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Kang Ki-jung through the Star Mobility representative, but after releasing the statement, he retracted his testimony, saying he never gave money to ruling party politicians.

On the day of the prison disclosure, he also appeared at the trial of former Democratic Party Busan Saha-eul District Committee Chairman Lee Sang-ho and retracted his testimony, stating that he did not provide political funds.

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