Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was acquitted Friday of charges of abusing his authority to help a former defense minister evade criminal investigation.
The former minister, Lee Jong-sup, allegedly had a role in the 2023 cover-up of the death of a Marine.
The Seoul Central District Court cleared the 65-year-old of charges of harboring a criminal, abuse of authority and violating the State Public Officials Act for appointing then-Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup as ambassador to Australia in November 2023.
At the time, Lee was a key suspect in the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials' investigation into Pvt. Chae Soo-geun's death in July of that year. The special counsel team led by Lee Myeong-hyeon sought a five-year prison term for Yoon, claiming the then-president had appointed Lee as ambassador to ensure that the investigation did not reach him.
"There is reason to believe that (Lee's appointment) was (Yoon) exercising his rights on personnel decisions as the head of the state," the court said in its ruling at the sentencing hearing that commenced Friday at 2 p.m.
The court said it cannot definitively be said that Lee's appointment as the envoy to Australia was intended to deter the ongoing investigation. It added there is no evidence to believe that Lee did not comply with the investigation.
Five other officials of Yoon's administration, also indicted for their role in Lee's appointment and departure to Australia under Yoon's orders, were also acquitted Friday in the first-instance ruling of the case. This included former National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae.
Yoon's side welcomed the ruling and urged the special counsel not to appeal. His lawyers accused the trial of being politically charged and said there was no evidence of Yoon abusing his authority in the first place.
Former defense minister Lee was among the high-ranking officials suspected of being involved in the cover-up in the 2023 death of Pvt. Chae. He later admitted he had talked directly with Yoon multiple times during the investigation, but denied that Yoon had expressed his “fury” over the handling of the incident.
Friday's trial is one of multiple legal proceedings involving Yoon, many of which also concern his failed martial law bid in December 2024, and his wife's alleged corruption.
He in February was sentenced in the first-instance ruling to a lifetime in prison, for leading an insurrection through the martial law bid. The ex-leader appealed the ruling, and an appellate trial is currently underway.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
