Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was indicted on charges of helping former Defense Minister Lee Jongseob flee overseas, was acquitted in the first trial.
The 22nd Criminal Settlement Division of the Seoul Central District Court acquitted former President Yoon, who was indicted on charges including aiding and abetting a fugitive and abuse of authority, on September 11.
The court ruled that it cannot be concluded that there was an intent to obstruct the investigation behind former President Yoon's instruction in November 2023 to appoint former Minister Lee as the ambassador to Australia.
The court pointed out, "It is difficult to view that the defendant had the intent or purpose of aiding a fugitive simply by ordering the appointment of former Minister Lee, who had been reported to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), as ambassador without being aware at all that a travel ban had been imposed on Lee Jongseob."
It also judged, "There is room to view it as part of exercising personnel authority as head of state," adding, "It cannot be seen that the previous ambassador was unreasonably forced out and Jongseob was 'shoved in,' to use a colloquial term."
The court also expressed doubt as to whether the act of appointing a specific individual as a foreign ambassador could constitute aiding a fugitive.
The court noted, "The act of aiding a fugitive means to the extent of making it impossible or difficult to discover the fugitive's whereabouts, and does not encompass everything that merely delays or complicates procedures to some extent."
The court also judged that there is no evidence that former President Yoon conducted personnel procedures only formally to have former Minister Lee leave the country or that he improperly ordered the cancellation of the CIO's travel ban against him.
Former National Security Office Director Cho Taeyong, former Justice Minister Park Sung-jeaj, and then-Vice Justice Minister Shim Woo-jung, who were indicted together, were all also acquitted.
The suspicion of fleeing to Australia refers to the incident in March 2024 when former Defense Minister Lee Jongseob, who was under investigation by the CIO as a key suspect in the case of external pressure regarding the death of Marine Corporal Chae, was appointed ambassador to Australia and left the country.
Former President Yoon was indicted on charges of ordering the appointment of former Minister Lee as ambassador to Australia in November 2023, four months after Corporal Chae's death, in order to have him flee to Australia.
Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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