“How many charges will Kakao be split into for prosecution?”

Court: Prosecutors' Rebuke That "Investigation Remains"
"Procedural Delays Due to Indictment Method Are Unacceptable"

"Exactly how many charges will the prosecution split this case into?"

On the 23rd, the Criminal Division 15 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Yang Hwan-seung) reprimanded the prosecution for its 'splitting prosecution' during the trial of former Kakao Chief Investment Officer Bae Jae-hyun and others on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act. This came to light during the trial when it was revealed that there are suspects still under investigation by the prosecution related to this case. The court pointed out that the trial should not be delayed due to the prosecution's splitting of charges.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The court's criticism arose during discussions about consolidating the trial of Kakao Management Innovation Committee Chairman Kim Beom-su and former CEO Bae's case. On the 8th, the defense team of Chairman Kim, who was indicted in custody, requested a consolidated trial on the same day.

Regarding the consolidation request, the court said, "If consolidated, it will affect the defendants, so we need to consider it carefully," adding, "Currently, consolidation seems difficult, and it should be considered at a specific point in time. The defense teams need to conduct at least one round of witness examinations each, but for key witnesses, it is difficult to complete the examination in one day, making the procedure complicated. Also, both cases need to be concluded simultaneously." The court further stated, "I ask the defense attorneys to think together about how to proceed with the procedure," and "Before consolidation, we will hold a preparatory hearing with the defense attorneys of Chairman Kim's case to hear their opinions and then decide."

At that time, the defense asked the prosecution if there were any additional related cases, and the prosecution replied, "There is an ongoing investigation involving suspects related to this case."

The court then asked, "Are there still people who have not been indicted in this case?" and scolded, "How many charges will the prosecution split this case into?"

The prosecution responded that they received the case late this year from the Financial Supervisory Service's Capital Markets Special Judicial Police (Special Judicial Police) and could not indict it together. The court retorted, "When indicting Kang Ho-jung, Kakao's Head of Investment Strategy, shouldn't the prosecution have handled it properly by indicting or not indicting at that time?" Kang was previously indicted without detention on the 8th along with Chairman Kim on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act.

The prosecution informed the court that they plan to conduct additional investigations of officials from One Asia Partners and take appropriate actions. It is known that they are investigating Kim Young-bae, President of One Asia Partners. Since Chairman Ji Chang-bae of One Asia Partners is already undergoing a consolidated trial with former CEO Bae, if officials from One Asia Partners are indicted for the same case, there is a possibility that after the evidentiary hearing (a procedure to confirm the admissibility of evidence presented by the prosecution), the case will have to be consolidated again with former CEO Bae's trial. The prosecution explained to the court that additional investigations are necessary because the suspects are involved in other cases as well.

The court said, "That case should be indicted separately," but also asked, "If suspects are indicted in this case, do we have to go through the cumbersome procedure of consolidating the trials again?" It added, "The trial results for the One Asia Partners officials should not be affected, so what does the court have to do?" expressing discomfort, and said, "The prosecution's way of indicting is causing difficulties for the court. The trial procedure should not be delayed because of the prosecution's indictment method."

On the same day, the court also pointed out the issue of delays in viewing and copying case records in custody cases. The court asked the prosecution, "Isn't it taking more than a month for defense attorneys to request viewing and copying in custody cases?" The prosecution replied, "It is not intentional." The court reprimanded, "According to the Criminal Procedure Act, special efforts should be made to schedule hearings quickly for custody cases, but because the prosecution does not provide viewing and copying, the detained defendants cannot even attend the trial."

Earlier, on the 8th, the defense team of Chairman Kim, who was indicted, was able to view and copy the records starting from the morning of the 26th. The first trial for Chairman Kim is scheduled for the 11th of next month. Han Seung, former Chief Judge of Jeonju District Court, and Yeo Hwan-seop, former Prosecutor General of Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, who were defense attorneys for Chairman Kim, resigned on the 26th.

Reporter Lim Hyun-kyung, Legal Newspaper

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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