Appeal Hearings for Kim Keon Hee and Han Duck-soo Begin in Earnest; ‘Appeal Dropped’ Daejang-dong Case Also Accelerates [This Week’s Court Schedule]

[The Financial News] This week (the 9th to the 13th), the appeal proceedings in First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s case over alleged illicit payments from the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church) will begin. An appeal hearing will also get underway in earnest for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is charged with performing key duties in connection with an insurrection. In addition, the first appeal hearing will open in the Daejang-dong private developer case, which sparked controversy when prosecutors decided not to appeal, signaling that full-fledged courtroom battles are about to begin.
According to the legal community on the 8th, Criminal Division 15-2 of the Seoul High Court (presided over by Shin Jong-o, Judge Sung Eon-joo of the Seoul High Court, and Judge Won Ik-seon of the Seoul High Court) will hold the first pretrial preparation hearing at 2 p.m. on the 11th in the appeal of Kim’s case, in which she is charged with bribery for brokerage and violations of the Capital Markets Act, among other offenses. A pretrial preparation hearing is a procedural session held before full hearings to organize the issues and evidence, and the defendant is not required to appear.
Kim is accused of receiving luxury bags, necklaces and other items from the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification along with a request for support for the religious organization, and was sentenced in the first instance to one year and eight months in prison. The trial court found her guilty only on part of the counts related to receiving valuables from the Family Federation, while acquitting her of charges related to Deutsche Motors stock manipulation and receiving free opinion polls.
The Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor Team, led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, has stated that it intends to contest the acquittals at the appellate level. In its appeal brief, the team argued that "Kim, who provided funds and placed orders, conspired in sequence with former Deutsche Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo and the main players in the scheme," adding, "In fact, the substantive truth can be reached only by examining the conspiracy relationship centered on former Chairman Kwon." The team further contended that the basis on which the first-instance court acquitted Kim "not only conflicts with prior final judgments, but also contradicts the assessment of other evidence."
The appeal trial of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will also move into full hearings on the same day. Criminal Division 12-1 of the Seoul High Court, a Seoul High Court division exclusively handling insurrection cases (Judge Lee Seung-chul of the Seoul High Court, Judge Cho Jin-gu of the Seoul High Court, and Judge Kim Min-a of the Seoul High Court), will open the first appeal hearing at 10 a.m. on the 11th in Han’s case on charges including performing key duties related to an insurrection. The panel plans to call former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min as a witness for questioning. Han’s side has indicated it will seek to clarify the circumstances of an approximately 11-minute one-on-one meeting with Lee immediately after a meeting on the declaration of emergency martial law.
The court has scheduled four hearings through the 7th of next month and has hinted that it may conclude arguments by then. Han, in his capacity as prime minister, has been indicted on charges that he failed to prevent the unlawful declaration of emergency martial law, that he signed and later destroyed the martial-law proclamation after the fact, and that he committed perjury in impeachment proceedings before the Constitutional Court of Korea. The first-instance court found most of the charges proven, sentenced him to 23 years in prison, and ordered him taken into custody in court.
Appeal proceedings will also begin for the Daejang-dong private developers. Criminal Division 6-3 of the Seoul High Court (Judge Min Dal-gi of the Seoul High Court, Judge Kim Jong-woo of the Seoul High Court, and Park Jeong-je) will hold the first appeal hearing on the 13th for five defendants: former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (SDC) planning director Dong-gyu Yu; Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management; attorney Nam Wook; accountant Jeong Young-hak; and attorney Jeong Min-yong, who are charged with breach of trust in the course of duty and other offenses.
At this hearing, the defendants plan to use a presentation to explain the grounds for their appeals. At the pretrial preparation stage, they argued that, given the structure of the Daejang-dong project, "the offense of breach of trust does not arise," directly challenging the first-instance judgment. They maintain that the fixed-profit structure resulted from demands by Seongnam-si (Seongnam City), not from collusion with private developers. They have also focused on undermining the credibility of key witnesses’ testimony. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have already decided not to appeal the first-instance ruling. As a result, portions of the judgment in which the defendants were acquitted cannot be revisited on appeal, and the 42.8 billion won forfeiture imposed on Kim has become the upper limit for any forfeiture order.
Dong-gyu Yu and the others were indicted on charges that, in the Daejang-dong development project, they structured the deal in a way that favored Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management and caused losses to SDC. The trial court sentenced Kim Man-bae and Yu each to eight years in prison, and imposed prison terms of four years and five years on attorney Nam Wook and accountant Jeong Young-hak, respectively. Attorney Jeong Min-yong was sentenced to six years in prison, a fine of 3.8 billion won, and additional forfeiture of more than 3.7 billion won. However, the first-instance court found it difficult to specify the exact amount of loss suffered by SDC and therefore acquitted them of the aggravated breach-of-trust charge under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter