Prosecution Appeals Lee Jeong-geun's First Trial Sentence Exceeding Prosecutor's Demand... Denies Allegations of Coercion

The prosecution appealed the first trial verdict of Lee Jeong-geun, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea, in which a heavier sentence than the prosecution's demand was handed down. The appeal is not due to disagreement with the sentence but to seek a retrial on some charges that were acquitted. Regarding the allegations of coercion raised by some due to the low prosecution demand, the prosecution firmly denied any investigative convenience.

Lee Jeong-geun, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 20th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced that it appealed the first trial verdict, which sentenced Lee to 4 years and 6 months in prison on charges of receiving 1 billion KRW in bribes from a businessman, citing a legal error as the reason for the appeal filed the previous day.

A prosecution official explained the reason for the appeal, saying, "Lee received money during the process of receiving a request from businessman Park, but the court did not acknowledge some of the request details. The court's narrow interpretation of the requests made after receiving the money requires legal judgment."

Earlier, the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) sentenced Lee on the 12th to 1 year and 6 months in prison for violating the Political Funds Act and 3 years in prison for other charges including bribery under the Special Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The sentence is heavier than the prosecution's demand of 3 years in prison.

The court found Lee guilty of most charges but acquitted some bribery charges overlapping with violations of the Political Funds Act. The court judged that the money Lee received was not clearly a reward for fulfilling the bribery requests.

A prosecution official emphasized, "If this verdict is finalized, it could affect other investigations. It differs from the prosecution's legal interpretation." However, the official added, "This appeal is not about disputing the sentence," and "The prosecution demand will not significantly change from the first trial demand." This is interpreted as the prosecution intending to demand the same 3-year prison sentence in the second trial.

The prosecution denied the so-called 'Lee Jeong-geun coercion theory' raised regarding the unusually low prosecution demand in the first trial.

After the prosecution demanded 3 years in prison for Lee and the investigation into the 'Democratic Party Convention Money Envelope Suspicion' intensified, some in the political and legal circles claimed that the prosecution might have coerced Lee to cooperate with the investigation.

Jeong Cheol-seung, a lawyer from The Firm who defended Lee in the first trial, also told some media, "Lee feels betrayed by the Democratic Party's blatant scapegoating," and said, "(The Democratic Party) made Lee Jeong-geun into someone the prosecution could use."

However, a prosecution official firmly stated, "There was absolutely no investigative convenience during the investigation of Lee."

He added, "The investigation team is conducting investigations by confirming evidence related to various cases, including the Democratic Party's money envelope suspicion, during the investigation of Lee. It is inappropriate to describe that as 'using' him."

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