Attorney Lee Hwa-young Files Recusal Request Against 3 Judges... "Concerns Over Unfair Trial"

Former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace, Lee Hwa-young's attorney filed a motion to disqualify the judges presiding over the case involving allegations of North Korean remittances by Ssangbangwool Group.

Kim Hyun-chul, attorney at law from Law Firm K&C representing the former deputy governor, stated at a press conference held at 11 a.m. on the 23rd in the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly's medium conference room, "After consulting with the defendant, we have decided to file a motion to disqualify the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court, which is the trial court for this case." The attorney submitted the motion to disqualify to Suwon District Court after the press conference.

Former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young [Image source=Yonhap News]

At the press conference, Attorney Kim added, "In principle, under the Criminal Procedure Act, disqualification of the entire trial court is not allowed, but individual judges can be disqualified. We will file motions to disqualify all three judges." He cited "Article 18, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act" as the basis, explaining, "A motion to disqualify can be filed when there is concern that a judge may conduct an unfair trial." Regarding the reason for disqualification, he said, "The presiding judge did not restrain or limit the prosecution's leading questions."

The attorney gave an example, saying, "When the prosecutor asked, 'It is written that the contract deposit for the Ssangbangwool and the Chosun Asia-Pacific Committee agreement is 5 million dollars, but it seems this does not actually represent a contract deposit. What do you think?' Former Chairman Kim responded, 'There is nothing to contract.' This shows that the prosecutor and Kim Sung-tae had prearranged what the answers would be, and since Kim Sung-tae could not properly memorize them, he was told 'Answer like this' during questioning," he claimed.

He continued, "Nevertheless, the trial court violated its duty to restrain the inducement of false testimony," adding, "When I pointed this out in a previous trial, the court told me, 'That is an immature opinion. Look at the trial records.' This was an insulting remark to me, a lawyer with over 20 years of experience."

Other reasons for disqualification included failure to fulfill the duty to clarify unclear issues, allowing witness examination on facts not charged leading to prejudgment, unfair trial proceedings, and issuance of unlawful additional arrest warrants.

In response to reporters' questions asking, "Isn't this motion to disqualify filed for the purpose of delaying the trial?" he replied, "That perspective is incorrect," and added, "The current trial court should remember this as a trial they themselves will be ashamed of in the future."

Attorney Kim Kwang-min also said, "This frame was created by the prosecution," and added, "Not long ago, the prosecution's frame that 'Lee Hwa-young's side is deliberately delaying the trial due to the investigation of Representative Lee Jae-myung' was accepted, but now that frame no longer applies at all."

When asked, "Why did former Deputy Governor Lee, who stated in August that he had no intention to file a motion to disqualify the trial court, change his mind after about two months?" he answered, "At that time, he was willing to negotiate under the prosecution's inducement, which was 'We will acquit you all, so testify that you reported to Lee Jae-myung,' but now he realizes that if he proceeds that way, Lee Hwa-young will have no standing afterward."

The attorney also presented some of the evidence materials, such as photos submitted by the prosecution to the trial court, used in the PPT at the press conference. Kim Hyun-chul said, "Many senior attorneys advised me while I was preparing for today's press conference that I could be punished if I abused the investigation records copied or viewed from the prosecution. However, I thought you should see the evidence directly to understand how absurdly this indictment proceeded, so I captured important parts."

With this motion to disqualify, the trial of former Deputy Governor Lee scheduled for the 24th is likely to be delayed again.

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