The trial of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding the Daejang-dong, Wirye, Baekhyeon-dong, and Seongnam FC cases, which was conducted for the first time after the change of judges, ended after 40 minutes. The representative's side argued that they should listen to the audio recordings under the previous method instead of applying the newly simplified criminal procedure rules for criminal trials.
The Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Lee Jin-gwan) held a court session for Lee Jae-myung, who faces charges of breach of trust and bribery, starting at 10:30 a.m. on the 4th. After the regular judicial personnel reassignment, the trial was held again after two weeks due to changes in judicial duties. Director General Kim Dong-hyun was replaced by Director General Lee Jin-gwan, and both associate judges were also changed.
The new panel discussed the procedure for renewing the trial. Trial renewal refers to the procedure of re-presenting the statements of the charges and examining evidence when a judge is changed during a trial. Recently, the Supreme Court amended the criminal procedure rules to allow for simplified processes in trial renewals, enabling trials to proceed without playing all previously recorded trial audio files, and instead reviewing transcripts or notifying both parties.
The representative's side insisted that they should listen to the audio files under the original method instead of the new approach. The representative's attorney noted, 'Considering that key witnesses have been examined in this courtroom for a considerable period,' and said, 'The indictment is already 135 pages long, and I think it is necessary to start with a solid understanding of such complex content and structure for a smooth trial.'
He added, 'I believe it is essential to directly hear the testimonies of the witnesses, and we believe the proceedings should continue as originally planned,' and urged, 'Even if conducted through a simplified procedure, we ask that the court appropriately considers the circumstances.'
The prosecution stated, 'We will proceed according to the court's decision,' and mentioned, 'If you set a future date, we will include the statements of the charges and will proceed with the renewal process for about two hours.'
The court said, 'We will primarily conduct the evidence examination based on the transcripts,' and added, 'After the evidence examination, we will decide whether to listen to audio for specific parts based on the parties' discussions.' This means they decided not to play all the recorded trial audio files according to the amended criminal procedure rules.
The next court session will be held at 10:30 a.m. on the 11th.