Former Air Force Legal Office Chief Accused of 'Late Sergeant Lee Yeram Investigation Interference' Also Acquitted in Appeal Trial

Former Air Force Legal Office Chief Jeon Ik-su, who was indicted for improper interference in the military investigation of the late Sergeant Lee Ye-ram's death case, was acquitted again in the appellate court.

Jeon Ik-su, former Air Force Legal Office Chief. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judges Baek Gang-jin, Kim Seon-hee, Lee In-su) on the 29th acquitted former Chief Jeon, who was charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (coercion to meet, etc.), as in the first trial.

The court stated, "Prosecutors and other investigative agencies are subject to the crime of coercion to meet if they know specific and particular facts," but added, "In this case, the military prosecutor learned facts as part of the investigation function while conducting the investigation, and did not know facts particularly valuable as a witness, making it difficult to apply the elements of the offense."

The court also said, "Although the defendant's actions were very inappropriate and highly blameworthy, and there is concern that it may cause a gap in criminal punishment and negatively affect public interests including the reform of military judicial institutions, we ultimately agree with the lower court's conclusion that high blameworthiness of the defendant's conduct alone does not justify an expansive interpretation to impose criminal punishment."

However, the court emphasized once again, "The fact that the defendant's actions cannot be criminally punished does not mean that those actions are justified or should be legally justified."

The court sentenced Air Force Public Relations Officer Jeong Mo, who was accused of defaming Sergeant Lee, to two years in prison and ordered his detention in court. Military official Yang Mo, who delivered security information to former Chief Jeon, was fined 5 million won.

Jeon was brought to trial in September 2022 on charges including calling the military prosecutor who requested an arrest warrant after the warrant for military official Yang, who allegedly delivered security information related to Sergeant Lee's case in July 2021, was dismissed, and accusing him by saying "The warrant is wrong." The first trial ruled not guilty, stating that the coercion to meet law was "enacted to protect witnesses or reference persons, not prosecutors or investigative agencies," and that "expansive interpretation of criminal laws to the detriment of the defendant is not permissible under the principle of legality."

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