Ewhayeong's Side Files Immediate Appeal Against Dismissal of Judge Recusal Request

The legal team of former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, who is on trial for allegations including bribery and illegal remittances to North Korea involving Ssangbangwool Group, filed an appeal after their motion to disqualify the judge was dismissed.

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

On the morning of the 9th, Lee's defense attorney submitted an immediate appeal to the Criminal Division 12 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Hwang In-seong).

In the immediate appeal, the defense argued, "The original decision stated that the failure to prevent the prosecutor's leading questions does not constitute grounds for disqualification because cross-examination was possible and an acquittal could have been rendered." They added, "This reasoning itself violates Article 75, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Procedure Rules, which mandates the judge's duty to prevent leading questions."

They further stated, "The original decision dismissed the motion by saying the court could have dismissed the indictment or acquitted the defendant, which reflects a highly authoritarian attitude," emphasizing, "If interpreted this way, all illegal acts by prosecutors or judges during litigation could be overlooked."

Lee's legal team filed a motion to disqualify three judges from the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Shin Jin-woo), who are presiding over the trial on charges including bribery, violation of the Political Funds Act, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, on the 23rd of last month.

In response, the Criminal Division 12, which handled the disqualification case, ruled on the 1st, "It is difficult to find any objective circumstances that reasonably suggest the trial court would conduct an unfair trial, and there is no other evidence to support this. All claims by the applicant are without merit," and dismissed the motion.

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