A police officer indicted on charges of leaking investigation information related to soccer player Hwang Ui-jo's illegal filming case was sentenced to prison on appeal.
The Criminal Appeals Division 4-3 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Yun Won-muk, Song Jung-ho, Eom Cheol) on the 18th overturned the lower court ruling that had acquitted a person surnamed Cho of charges including leaking official secrets and sentenced Cho to one year in prison.
Cho, who worked in the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was arrested and indicted in July last year on charges of informing an acquaintance, Attorney A, of investigation information in Hwang's case in Jan. last year. It was found that the information was delivered to Broker B through A.
The case became known in Feb. last year when Hwang's side filed a motion to recuse an investigator, saying "investigation information was leaked." At the time, Hwang claimed that B approached and demanded money in exchange for quashing the investigation and mentioned the location and date of the search and seizure.
In contrast, in Feb., the first-instance court said, "The indictment regarding the leak of search-and-seizure information has not been proven to the point of certainty, and (Cho's) motive, trigger, or purpose for the disclosure is not clear," and acquitted Cho.
By contrast, the appellate court said about the Telegram messages in which B sent Hwang information related to search and seizure around Jan. 25 last year, "B repeatedly mentioned words unrelated to search-and-seizure information, and the conversation appears to be in the form of relaying information heard, and it does not appear to be fabricated at will."
Cho also argued during the trial that it had been a long time since contacting A, but the court said, "There are circumstances indicating that in the process of questioning Hwang Ui-jo's sister-in-law at the Cyber Investigation Unit in July 2023, A was curious about investigation information such as the progress of the investigation and statements by related persons, and in late Nov. 2023 Cho suggested getting together for drinks with A and others," finding the two had a close relationship. It continued, "Looking at A and B's call records, there are phone call records that connect immediately before and after (the search and seizure)," and concluded that information leaked to A was highly likely to have been delivered to B.
The court said of Cho, "Search and seizure is a state function that performs a core role in criminal investigations," adding, "As an incumbent police officer, colluding with an attorney to divulge secrets undermined trust in public authority, and there is a need to hold Cho strictly accountable." It added, "Because investigation information was leaked, the team investigating Hwang Ui-jo at the time suffered a blow to fairness, including being subjected to a recusal motion, and fellow officers suffered, including being questioned."
However, citing the need to guarantee the right to defense, the court did not take Cho into custody in the courtroom.