Former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's "villa sex bribery allegations" were investigated, leading to the former prosecutor Lee Kyoo-won (currently the Spokesperson for the Justice Party) receiving a suspended sentence in the first trial for allegedly falsifying reports from interviews with businessman Yoon Joong-cheon. A suspended sentence means the court finds the defendant guilty of the allegations but does not impose a sentence. If the two-year suspension period passes without incident, the defendant avoids punishment.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 27 (Chief Judge Woo In-sung) announced on the 26th that it would suspend the sentencing of the former prosecutor Lee, who was indicted on charges of leaking official secrets, violating the Personal Information Protection Act, obstructing business, violating the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation), and preparing and using false public documents.
The court found the former prosecutor guilty only of having falsely reconstructed his statements due to the lack of an official transcript during three interviews with Mr. Yoon. The court stated, "Even if recordings were made informally, if a recording was indeed made, its authenticity can easily be verified," adding that "if the content was only based on memory despite possible errors, it could jeopardize public trust."
On the other charges, the court ruled that "there is no evidence for the charges or they fall into the category of being not guilty." It noted, "The guilty portion does not seem significant and is weak, and considering it is a first offense, the reasons for sentencing were explained."
In response, the prosecution said, "The first trial's ruling is difficult to accept as it contradicts existing precedents, and the prosecution plans to closely examine the ruling, including this, and respond with an appeal."
The former prosecutor was indicted for writing reports from interviews with Mr. Yoon and former Blue House administrative officer Park Kwan-cheon that were different from the facts while being part of a fact-finding team investigating the villa sex bribery allegations against former Deputy Minister Kim from 2018 to 2019, and leaking them to specific media.
The prosecution determined that there was no instance during the interview process where Mr. Yoon said, "It seems that President Yoon Suk-yeol (then the Prosecutor General) has come to the Wonju villa," and judged that the former prosecutor had fabricated false information in the interview report.
The former prosecutor was also indicted for illegally attempting to stop former Deputy Minister Kim, who was facing sex bribery allegations, from departing at Incheon Airport when he was trying to leave, along with the then Director General of the Immigration and Foreign Policy Bureau, Cha Kyu-geun (a member of the Justice Party), and former Blue House secretary Lee Kwang-cheol. He was acquitted in an appellate court last November and is currently awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice dismissed the former prosecutor, who ran for the proportional representative candidate of the Justice Party as an active prosecutor last November and lost, for violating political engagement obligations.