PROSECUTION INDICTS LEE SUNG-YUN

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Prosecution indicted Lee Sung-yun, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, for his alleged role in the investigation of former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui. The indictment turned Lee into the first chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central DPO to be accused of crime, but he vowed to restore his honor at the trial.

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In March 2019, former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui had been subject to a travel ban and was stopped from leaving the country in the middle of the night. The Anyang Prosecutors’ Branch Office of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office was investigating the procedural issues in this case. The head of the investigation was Lee Sung-yun who was at the time leading the anti-corruption team at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. The prosecution concluded that Lee had pressured the Anyang branch office to stop the investigation on the case. Lee was indicted for allegedly abusing his authority, becoming the first head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office to be prosecuted as the accused. He is expected to go to trial together with prosecutor Lee Gyu-won and the Justice Ministry’s Korea Immigration Service head Cha Gyu-geun, who are respectively accused of falsifying documents and approving an illegitimate travel ban. Now the focus is on what Lee's next move will be. He hasn’t spoken out about the possibility of stepping down from his position. Instead, he denied that he had unduly pressured investigators or committed any illegal act and said that he would restore his honor at the trial. However, he appears to have lost the trust of his organization by labeling the prosecution’s investigation as ‘target investigation’ although he himself is a top-ranking prosecutor and insisting on being probed by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Even the prosecutorial investigation review council convened at his request recommended Lee’s indictment, causing even the ruling Democratic Party to question his stance.

[Soundbite] Rep. Back Hye-ryun((Democratic Party)On a YTN radio interview(May 11)) : "The Justice Ministry will have its opinion, but Lee should decide on his own position now."

Some call for a personnel decision that removes him from the leadership position, but Justice Minister Park Beom-kye made it clear that Lee’s indictment and the suspension or disciplinary procedure are unrelated matters. The controversy surrounding Lee’s future is likely to intensify as an extensive shakeup in the prosecutors’ office is expected, following the appointment of a new prosecutor-general.