Yoon Suk Yeol Acquitted at Trial in 'Jongseop Lee Escape to Australia' Case: 'Difficult to Establish Intent to Flee'

[Financial News] Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was acquitted at trial on charges of sending former Defense Minister Jongseop Lee, who was a suspect in the case involving the death of Private First Class Chae Soo-geun, to Australia to help him evade justice. The court found it difficult to conclude that Yoon intended to send Lee abroad to obstruct the investigation.
The 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo, acquitted Yoon on charges of harboring a criminal, abuse of power and violating the State Public Officials Act on the 11th. The Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Team, led by Special Prosecutor Lee Myung-hyun, had sought a five-year prison sentence for Yoon.
The court also acquitted all five others indicted alongside him: former Office of National Security Chief Cho Tae-yong, former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, former Vice Minister of Justice Shim Woo-jung, former First Vice Foreign Minister Jang Ho-jin and former Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Discipline Lee Si-won.
The central issue was whether Yoon’s instruction in November 2023 to appoint Lee as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Australia was intended to help him evade the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) investigation.
The court noted that Lee had only been reported to the CIO at the time. It therefore found that Yoon could not be considered to have had "the intent or purpose of directly blocking or obstructing the CIO’s investigation by appointing Jongseop Lee as ambassador with specific knowledge of the circumstances."
The court added, "It is possible to view the appointment of Jongseop Lee, who had been defense minister, as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Australia, where defense cooperation with South Korea is important, as a decision based on his policy and political judgment."
The court also found it difficult to regard Lee’s appointment as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Australia itself as an act of helping a suspect evade justice.
The court pointed out, "This does not encompass every case in which the progress of an investigation is somewhat delayed or procedures become more complicated." It added, "It is difficult to conclude that it was legally impossible in principle, or practically significantly difficult, for Jongseop Lee to respond to summonses from investigative authorities while serving as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Australia."
The court acquitted the remaining defendants as well, citing reasons including that they had performed their ordinary duties in accordance with their respective positions or that it was difficult to find that they had been involved in Lee’s departure from the country.
Yoon’s legal team stated, "In light of the law and the record, this is an entirely natural conclusion." It added, "If the exercise of a president’s constitutional authority to make appointments begins to be defined and punished retroactively as an abuse of power, the vicious cycle of bringing the personnel appointments and policy decisions of a previous administration before criminal courts whenever power changes will inevitably be repeated."
The allegations that Lee had been sent to Australia to evade justice emerged after he was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Australia and left the country in March 2024. Lee had been a key suspect in allegations that investigators faced pressure in their probe into the death of Private First Class Chae Soo-geun.
The special prosecution team indicted Yoon, alleging that after allegations of investigative pressure—including the so-called "VIP rage" theory—emerged in August 2023, Lee was reported to the CIO after speaking directly with Yoon. The team argued that Yoon then appointed Lee as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Australia in November of that year to send him abroad.
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter