A court has ruled that the dismissal of former Daegu District Prosecutors' Office deputy chief prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who ran in the general election while serving as a prosecutor and worked as a Rebuilding Korea Party Spokesperson, was justified. The court found no need to overturn the Ministry of Justice's decision to dismiss Lee for violating the duty of political neutrality, among other reasons.
The Administrative Division 2 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Gong Hyun-jin) on the 9th ruled against the plaintiff in Lee's suit seeking to cancel the dismissal imposed by the Minister of Justice.
While serving as a deputy chief prosecutor at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, Lee submitted his resignation in Mar. 2024 to run in the 22nd general election. However, before the resignation was accepted, he ran in Apr. of the same year as No. 22 on the Rebuilding Korea Party's proportional representation list and lost.
Lee did not return to the prosecution afterward and worked as a Rebuilding Korea Party Spokesperson. The Ministry of Justice referred Lee to a disciplinary committee and, in Nov. of the same year, dismissed him for reasons including violating the duty of political neutrality in office and the ban on engaging in political activities.
The Ministry of Justice also included acts committed during past investigations and inquiries as grounds for discipline. It said that from Nov. 2018 to Jun. 2019, while serving as a prosecutor on the Past Affairs Fact-Finding Team of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Lee prepared false interview result reports, among other documents.
Matters related to the illegal travel ban case involving former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-eui also formed the basis for discipline. The Ministry of Justice found that in Mar. 2019, Lee drafted and executed documents such as an emergency travel ban approval request regarding the former Vice Minister by using, without permission, the authority of an agent for the chief of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, imposed an unlawful emergency travel ban, and then concealed related documents.
Lee filed an administrative suit in Dec. 2024 challenging the Ministry of Justice's dismissal. A suit to cancel a dismissal seeks a court ruling to overturn a dismissal decision that a public official or similar party claims is illegal or unjust.
Meanwhile, Lee was indicted in Apr. 2021 on charges of involvement in the former Vice Minister's illegal travel ban case included in the disciplinary grounds, but the Supreme Court finalized an acquittal in Jun. last year.
In a separate case over allegations that he wrote false information in interview reports for figures including construction contractor Yoon Jung-chun, the Supreme Court last month finalized a suspension of sentence for a fine of 2 million won. A suspension of sentence is a system under which guilt is recognized but, if there are no further issues for a certain period, the effect of the sentence vanishes.