Jeongseon Lee, Gwangju Superintendent, Avoids Arrest on Auditor Recruitment Corruption Charges

Court: "Difficult to Recognize Necessity and Validity of Detention"

Jeongseon Lee, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, is coming out after the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) held at Gwangju District Court in Dong-gu, Gwangju on the morning of the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News

Jeongseon Lee, Superintendent of the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, who was accused of unfairly intervening in the hiring process of his high school classmate as an auditor, avoided arrest on December 11.

On this day, Kim Yeongyeong, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Gwangju District Court, dismissed the pretrial detention warrant requested on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights. The court is known to have determined that, at this stage, it is difficult to recognize the necessity and validity of detention. Although key evidence appears to have been secured, the court cited the need to guarantee the suspect's right to defense, given the ongoing dispute over the legality of initiating the investigation.

Immediately after the decision, Superintendent Lee issued a statement saying, "This prosecution investigation could cause serious misunderstandings in the process of the upcoming Gwangju superintendent election, which is just six months away." He added, "Given that the main complainants in this case are individuals from teachers' organizations who are running for office, I cannot help but question the fairness of the prosecution's investigation, which seems to have followed the claims of the complainants."

Superintendent Lee is suspected of intervening in the 2022 hiring process for the auditor at the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education to ensure that his high school classmate was selected as the final candidate. The case was triggered by concerns raised by teachers' organizations, and the police concluded in September last year that there was no evidence of wrongdoing. However, in March this year, the prosecution launched a direct investigation, including a search and seizure of the city education office.

Superintendent Lee's legal team has raised questions about the legality of the prosecution's investigation, filing both an immediate appeal and a subsequent re-appeal. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the legality of procedures such as the execution of search and seizure warrants.

Meanwhile, a section chief (team leader level) who was in charge of the practical aspects of the auditor recruitment process in 2022 was indicted on charges including obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means for attempting to alter candidate rankings by requesting changes to interview scores, and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison in the first trial.

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