'Innocent in 1st Trial for Investigation Interference in Late Lee Yeram Case' Jeon Ik-su: "Inappropriate but..."

Jeon Ik-su, former Air Force Headquarters Legal Office Chief (53), who was indicted on charges of improperly interfering in the military investigation of the late Sergeant Lee Ye-ram's death case, was acquitted in the first trial.

On the afternoon of the 29th, the 26th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jung Jin-ah) acquitted Jeon, who was charged with coercion of an interview under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The court stated, "The legal provision on coercion of an interview was enacted to protect witnesses or reference persons, not investigative agencies," and added, "Expanding the scope of criminal law provisions unfavorably for the defendant is not permissible under the principle of legality."

However, the court emphasized, "Considering the situation where suspicions were raised in the media, the defendant should have been more cautious with his words and actions and refrained from behavior that could cause misunderstandings. Nevertheless, he made phone calls and even secretly recorded conversations to obtain information about the ongoing investigation," and "This clearly points to a highly inappropriate act that significantly undermined the fairness and credibility of the investigation."

Furthermore, the court added, "By not imposing any punishment, there is a heavy concern that this behavior might be criminally justified, leading to similar actions being repeated in the military, thereby pouring cold water on the efforts of military judicial institutions who endure pain to restore lost public trust." Earlier, Jeon was brought to trial in September last year on charges of confronting a military prosecutor by phone, saying "the warrant is wrong," after a detention warrant was requested for Yang Mo, a civilian military official who provided him with security information related to Sergeant Lee's case.

Yang, who was also indicted on charges including official secrets leakage, was sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year probation. He was accused of leaking personal information and interrogation details of those involved in the warrant review in June 2021 to Jeon. In response to the growing public criticism of the Air Force, Colonel Jung Mo, who was in charge of public relations at the Air Force Headquarters and accused of leaking official secrets to the media with the intent to reverse public opinion and defame Sergeant Lee, was sentenced to two years in prison.

Sergeant Lee reported being sexually harassed by senior non-commissioned officer Sergeant Jang Mo in March 2021, but the investigation was not properly conducted, and she suffered secondary victimization. Sergeant Lee made an extreme choice on May 21 of the same year.

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