Jo Gapje: "Dropping Daejang-dong Appeal Is President Lee's Greatest Crisis"

Jo Gapje, a conservative commentator who has previously expressed support for President Lee Jae-myung, has warned that the prosecution’s decision not to appeal the Daejang-dong case represents “the greatest crisis for President Lee.” On the 8th, through his social media account, Jo stated, “Just as President Lee was trying to capitalize on the momentum of the successful APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Gyeongju to move beyond judicial risks and shift toward pragmatic, national interest-centered politics, a huge incident has erupted.”

President Lee Jae-myung is greeting Jo Gapje, CEO of 'Jogapje.com', before lunch at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, last July. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office did not submit an appeal by midnight on November 7, the deadline for appealing the first trial verdict for Yoo Donggyu, former head of planning at Seongnam Development Corporation, and Kim Manbae, along with other private sector figures, who were indicted on charges including aggravated breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. In criminal cases, an appeal must be filed within seven days of the verdict if one wishes to contest the decision. If the prosecution waives its right to appeal, the principle of “prohibition of unfavorable change” in criminal procedure law means that the sentence cannot be increased beyond the first trial’s ruling. In contrast, all five defendants, including Yoo and Kim, have filed their own appeals.

Regarding this, Jo argued, “If those who ordered the prosecution to drop the appeal-an act that can only be seen as a service to the Daejang-dong group-are not identified and investigated for abuse of authority and sent to prison, the situation will remain unresolved and will engulf the President.” He continued, “Since the Daejang-dong group appealed first but the prosecution was prevented from appealing, the person who gave this order cannot be on the side of the prosecution, which is supposed to protect the public interest, but must be on the side of the Daejang-dong group. Even though backlash from the prosecution, the opposition, the media, and public opinion was obvious, such a risky move was made, which may suggest there are deeper reasons behind it.”

He added, “It is unclear whether there was pressure in the form of threats to expose information, or whether some kind of negotiation succeeded, such as agreeing that capping the forfeiture at several tens of billions of won (as per the first trial ruling) would be mutually beneficial. But now, all suspicions will be directed at the President, and the Democratic Party will find it impossible to defend itself.”

Jinwoo Jung, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Photo by Yonhap News

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Amid strong backlash within the prosecution and from the opposition, Jinwoo Jung, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, abruptly tendered his resignation. Jung stated, “While I accept the instructions from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, I wanted to make it clear that the opinion of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office differs, and I am resigning to take responsibility for the current situation.”

Norman Seokman Noh, Acting Prosecutor General, stated on the 9th, “It was a decision made after careful consideration and consultation with the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, under my responsibility as Acting Prosecutor General.” Noh added, “For the Daejang-dong case, we received reports from the local office and, as with other major cases, also considered the opinion of the Ministry of Justice. After comprehensively reviewing the intent and content of the verdict, the standards for appeal, and the progress of the case, we determined that it was reasonable not to file an appeal.”

He further stated, “I am well aware of the various opinions and concerns, but I ask all members of the organization to understand these circumstances. I would like to express my gratitude to the frontline prosecutors who have worked hard to maintain the prosecution over a long period, and my apologies and thanks to Chief Prosecutor Jung for sharing in these difficult deliberations late into the night.”

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