At the first trial, Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Minister Oh Dong-woon denied the charge of dereliction of duty over allegations that he failed for an extended period to process a complaint filed against a Director General-level prosecutor belonging to the agency. The point is that there was no Director General-level prosecutor to approve and direct the case, so it was not a willful neglect of duty.
The Criminal Agreement Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Se-yong) on Apr. 2 held the first trial for Minister Oh, CIO Vice Minister Lee Jae-seung, and former CIO Director General-level Prosecutor Park Seok-il, who were indicted on charges of dereliction of duty.
Oh's side argued, "There was no Director General-level prosecutor who should guide the case, so from the perspectives of the minister and vice minister, there was no way to give approval." It said there were internal review procedures, including former Director General-level Prosecutor Park reviewing the case and preparing a quick-review report indicating an acquittal, and that after Park left in Oct. 2024, it was also difficult, given the organizational structure, to designate a responsible prosecutor to take on the case.
Oh's side also said that Director General-level Prosecutors Lee Dae-hwan and Cha Jeong-hyeon, who remained at the time, were continuing to handle the investigation into the death in the line of duty of Sergeant Chae, so they were not in an objective position to process the complaint case. It argued there was a legitimate reason to wait for a new Director General-level prosecutor to take office. When the bench asked whether he shared his lawyer's view, Oh answered, "Yes."
Vice Minister Lee's side also denied the allegations. It said the case was not close to the statute of limitations, and that it was reviewing when to refer the case to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office while considering organizational stability and ensuring due process. It flatly denied the so-called suspicion of "shielding one's own," that the CIO intentionally delayed an internal case.
Minister Oh, Vice Minister Lee, and former Director General-level Prosecutor Park were indicted on charges of delaying the investigation for 11 months after receiving in Aug. 2024 a complaint accusing former CIO Director General-level Prosecutor Song Chang-jin of perjury before the National Assembly, without referring or notifying the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
Also present in court that day were former Director General-level Prosecutor Song, who served as acting CIO minister and vice minister in 2024, and former CIO Director General-level Prosecutor Kim Seon-gyu. They were brought to trial on charges of exerting external pressure to block the investigation into the death in the line of duty of Sergeant Chae. The hearing also included testimony from attorney Kim Gyu-hyeon, who reported the allegation of external pressure on the Sergeant Chae investigation, and prosecutors on the CIO investigation team.
Before witness examination, Minister Oh, Vice Minister Lee, and former Director General-level Prosecutor Park requested to sever the trials, and, with the court's permission, left the courtroom. This trial is expected to determine whether the CIO intentionally shelved an internal case or whether the delay was unavoidable due to organizational operations.