On the 9th, prosecutor Lee Jeong-seop of the Daejeon High Prosecutor's Office denied all charges in the first trial concerning allegations of having his child registered at a different address and receiving payments for accommodation from a large company executive related to a resort.
Director General Park Kang-kyun of the Seoul Central District Court held the first hearing of Lee's case, who is accused of violating the Act on the Promotion of Electronicization in Criminal Justice Procedures, the Act on Prohibition of Solicitation, and the Resident Registration Act. This trial was originally scheduled for the 25th of last month but was postponed at Lee's request.
According to the prosecution, Lee is accused of violating the Act on Prohibition of Solicitation by receiving approximately 10 million won in illicit benefits, including having a large company executive pay for resort accommodation worth 1.07 million won at a resort in Gangwon Province in 2020. He is also accused of registering at a different address for his child's elementary school admission in April 2021, and of unlawfully inquiring about the criminal history of an employee at a golf course operated by his brother-in-law through a junior prosecutor. However, the prosecution transferred the case involving the allegation of divulging official secrets to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials when they charged Lee without detention in March.
At the trial, when asked by reporters if he acknowledged the charges, Lee said, "I will seek to correct procedural and substantive legal errors during the trial process," adding, "I am not acknowledging any of the issues." However, he did not make any direct remarks in court.
Lee's defense attorney also stated that they deny all charges. The attorney claimed there are three procedural violations in the charges, noting that the prosecution initiated an investigation directly despite not having the authority, proceeded with the seizure procedure without ensuring the rights of the actual parties involved, and exceeded the scope of the seizure in the search. The attorney concluded that the evidence obtained by the prosecution, as well as secondary evidence, were illegally collected and should all be excluded as evidence.
Regarding the charge of violating the Resident Registration Act and criminal procedure, the attorney stated, "This case falls under circumstances where the prosecution began an investigation and filed charges despite having no authority to do so, rendering the procedures invalid," and requested the dismissal of charges. He further noted that in the case of the Resident Registration Act violation, the defendant's wife applied voluntarily, without Lee having any knowledge of it at the time. Additionally, the attorney stated, "Lee did not participate at all in the resort booking or payment process, and he was unaware of the fact that expenses were being provided by the large company executive, including what the expenses amounted to."
The court requested the prosecution to provide details regarding the circumstances surrounding the initiation of the investigation in this case, the prosecution's investigation regarding Lee's claims of illegally collected evidence, and a review process concerning the acquisition of evidence. The court announced that the next date would be for preparation of the trial.
In response, Lee's defense attorney requested that the next date be for trial, stating, "Lee is hoping for a swift trial, and as a prosecutor, it is burdensome to appear in court frequently," but the court did not accept this request. The court set the preparation date for the trial for 4 p.m. on the 11th of next month.
Meanwhile, this case began when the Democratic Party of Korea reported Lee to the prosecution in October 2023. At the time, Lee was the deputy chief prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, supervising the investigation into the allegations of illegal remittances to North Korea by the SSANGBANGWOOL Group involving Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. However, he later was assigned to the Daejeon High Prosecutor's Office. In December of the same year, an impeachment motion against Lee was resolved under the Democratic Party's leadership but was dismissed by the Constitutional Court.