Sangmin Lee: "Omitting Context, Reporting Only Statements... Giving Judges Prejudice"

Disclosure of Police Investigation Details to the Media
Strong Suspicion of Intentional Leak
Criminal Offenses of Breach of Official Secrets and Disclosure of Suspect Facts
Violation of the Suspect's Right to Defense

Former Minister Sang-min Lee and President Yoon Suk-yeol. [Image source = Yonhap News]

Lee Sang-min, former Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated through his lawyer that the disclosure of the police investigation details regarding the December 3 emergency martial law is "highly suspected to be an intentional leak. It constitutes criminal offenses such as breach of official secrets and disclosure of suspect facts, as well as an infringement on the suspect's right to defense."

Lee's lawyer added, "Reporting by selectively omitting the overall context and extracting partial statements causes public confusion and may lead judges to form unfair prejudices, which is highly inappropriate." He further requested, "Considering that repeated incidents like this could damage the trust in the judicial system, we urge investigative agencies and the media to adopt a more cautious attitude."

In particular, he stated, "We ask the investigative agencies to thoroughly investigate this matter with responsibility, to severely punish those accountable, and to take measures to prevent such incidents from recurring."

Earlier, in the suspect interrogation record by the police special investigation team, former Minister Lee reportedly made a statement to the effect that "all members of the State Council expressed opposition to the declaration of martial law to President Yoon Suk-yeol." This contradicts the testimony given to the Constitutional Court by former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who stated that there were State Council members who agreed to the declaration of martial law. Following the disclosure of Lee's statements, President Yoon's legal team also issued a statement, condemning the leak of investigation records as "a serious criminal act that infringes on the suspect's human rights and right to defense."

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