The Day After Death Penalty Request for Yoon, Trial Begins Over Alleged ‘Australia Escape’... Kim Keon Hee Also Faces Unification Church Trial

[Financial News] While the Special Prosecutor Team for Insurrection and Treason, led by Special Counsel Cho Eun-seok, has requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of leading an insurrection, a trial over allegations that Yoon was involved in an “Australia escape” scheme is set to begin.

At the same court, a trial is also scheduled over allegations involving First Lady Kim Keon Hee and the Unification Church. However, as both are pretrial hearings at which the defendants are not required to appear, it is unlikely that the two will encounter each other in the courtroom.

On the 14th, the 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) will hold the first pretrial hearing in the case against former President Yoon, who has been indicted on charges including aiding a suspect’s escape and violating the National Public Officials Act. A pretrial hearing is a procedure held before the formal trial to confirm the positions of the defendant and the prosecution and to organize future trial plans, and the defendant is not obligated to appear.
Yoon Suk Yeol is accused of ordering the appointment of former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup as ambassador to Australia in order to help him flee to Australia, even though Lee was the key suspect in the case of the Death of Marine Corporal Chae during flood rescue operations. Former National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong, former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, former Vice Justice Minister Sim Woo-jung, former First Vice Foreign Minister Jang Ho-jin, and former Presidential Secretary for Public Discipline Lee Si-won are also standing trial alongside him.

The Special Prosecutor Team on the Death of Marine Corporal Chae, headed by Lee Myung-hyun, believes that Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the appointment of former Minister Lee as ambassador starting on November 19, 2023, four months after the line-of-duty death of Marine Corporal Chae during flood rescue operations, in which Lee was the key suspect.

It is known that, under instructions from Yoon Suk Yeol, the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea were systematically involved in the process of appointing former Minister Lee as ambassador and arranging his departure from the country. Former National Security Office Director Cho and others are accused of carrying out Yoon’s orders in this process.

On the same day, the first pretrial hearing in the case against First Lady Kim Keon Hee on charges of violating the Political Parties Act will also be held, under the jurisdiction of Criminal Agreement Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Insung Woo). The pretrial hearing was originally scheduled for the 9th of last month, but it was postponed once because the defense’s review and copying of the case records was delayed.

Special Counsel Min Jung-gi’s team has indicted five people in connection with allegations that, ahead of the People Power Party’s party convention in March 2023, the Unification Church sought to have a specific candidate elected as party leader by having large numbers of church members join the party. Those indicted are First Lady Kim Keon Hee, Unification Church leader Hak Ja Han, former global headquarters director Yoon Young-ho, former chief secretary to Hak Ja Han Jung Won-joo, and Geonjin Monk Jeon Sung-bae.

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter