A KOSDAQ-listed company chair surnamed Lee, who was indicted and detained on charges of helping former Vice Chair Lee Gi-hun—identified as a key figure in the Sambu Engineering & Construction stock manipulation case—flee, applied for bail, but the court rejected the request.
According to legal sources on the 4th, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 22 (Presiding Judge Cho Hyeong-u, senior judge) on the previous day dismissed Chair Lee's bail request, who is on trial on charges including harboring a fugitive. Lee is accused of providing a vehicle and communication devices used to move to a hideout when the former vice chair fled ahead of a pretrial detention hearing (warrant review) in July last year.
The former vice chair was arrested in Mokpo 55 days after fleeing and was indicted and detained on Sept. 26 last year on charges of taking about 36.9 billion won in illicit gains by participating in Sambu Engineering & Construction stock manipulation in May–June 2023.
At a bail hearing on the 29th of last month, Lee's side argued that an out-of-custody trial was necessary to protect the right to defense since Lee is also standing trial in a separately indicted stock manipulation case. They also sought leniency, saying the crime was committed out of "personal sentiment" and that "the period of assistance in the flight was only three nights and four days." Lee said, "I bitterly regret my reckless behavior," and added, "I never helped thinking there would be a flight."
In contrast, the special counsel investigating the case, the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor, argued that Lee had a prior record of being caught attempting to stow away during the stock manipulation probe and that there was a risk of flight, evidence destruction, and witness tampering, so the trial should proceed in detention. The court, after deliberation, found the special counsel's argument persuasive and did not grant bail.