The prosecution submitted a request for a trial schedule to the court handling the North Korean remittance case involving Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party. The trial has been suspended for three months after Lee's side filed a request for the judges to be changed.
According to the legal community on the 21st, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office submitted a request for scheduling to the 11th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court (Director General Song Byeong-hoon) in the afternoon. The scheduling request is a request to the court to expedite the trial.
Earlier, Lee's side filed a request to change the three judges of the 11th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court, which is in charge of the trial, last December. They expressed concerns about an unfair trial.
In response, the court made a dismissal decision on the 11th of last month. The court ruled that Lee’s side's argument was inconsistent because the judges had changed due to regular personnel shifts. Subsequently, the court sent the dismissal decision document to Lee and his lawyers, who reportedly received it on the 13th and 14th of last month.
However, more than a month has passed since the dismissal decision document was sent, and the trial date has not been set. Although the court sent the dismissal decision document six times, there are interpretations suggesting that it has not taken effect as the legal representatives failed to deliver it to Lee.
Even if the decision was delivered to the legal representatives, there is no domestic precedent regarding whether the decision takes effect if it has not been delivered to the defendant. There is also a conflict in scholarly opinions. Therefore, it means that the court is waiting for the decision to be delivered to the defendant, Lee.