'Hwang Ui-jo Investigation Leak': Police Officer Sentenced to One Year in Prison on Appeal, Overturning First Trial Verdict

[Financial News] A police officer who was tried for leaking investigative information related to footballer Hwang Ui-jo has been sentenced to prison in the appellate court.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeals Division 4-3 (Presiding Judges Yoon Won-mok, Jungho Song, and Eom Cheol) overturned the first trial's acquittal of Officer Cho, who was charged with leaking official secrets, and sentenced him to one year in prison. During the previous hearing, prosecutors had requested a sentence of one year and six months.
The court determined that Officer Cho had a motive to leak information, considering his relationship with the lawyer who received details about the search and seizure. The court explained, "Given statements such as 'It seems they will leave soon' and 'They will arrive within an hour,' it can be interpreted that Cho was referring to the second search and seizure team he belonged to." The court further stated, "Search and seizure is a core function of the state in criminal investigations. For an active-duty police officer to conspire with another officer and leak confidential information severely undermines public trust in law enforcement and warrants strict accountability. The leak of investigative information led Hwang Ui-jo's side to file a motion to dismiss the investigation team, damaging the credibility and fairness of the months-long investigation."
Officer Cho was indicted and detained in January last year for allegedly leaking search and seizure information related to Hwang Ui-jo to an acquaintance who is a lawyer while serving in the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Cyber Investigation Unit. The allegations surfaced after Hwang Ui-jo's side claimed that a broker approached them, promising to resolve the case.
Previously, the first trial had acquitted Officer Cho. The court at that time ruled, "The prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove the leak of search and seizure information beyond a reasonable doubt, and the motive, circumstances, and purpose of the leak were not clearly established."

theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter