Kim Keon Hee, Han Duck-soo and Lee Sang-min Face First Grand Bench Deliberation Today

[Financial News] The appeals of Kim Keon Hee, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Minister Lee Sang-min have reached the first deliberation session of the Supreme Court Grand Bench. The deadlines for issuing rulings set by the special prosecutor laws in all three cases have already passed, and the defendants' detention expiration dates are approaching. The key question is whether the justices will reach conclusions and set dates for the rulings today.
According to legal circles on the 29th, the Supreme Court Grand Bench, chaired by Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, will hold a closed-door deliberation session today on eight cases, including Kim Keon Hee's alleged violations of the Capital Markets Act and the Political Funds Act. The Grand Bench is a panel presided over by the chief justice and composed of all Supreme Court justices except the head of the National Court Administration. Appeals before the Supreme Court are generally heard by panels of four justices, but cases of significant public interest or requiring historical judicial evaluation may be referred to the Grand Bench.■ Will Kim Keon Hee Be Deemed a Co-Principal Offender in Receiving Free Polling?Kim Keon Hee is accused of receiving 58 opinion polls free of charge from Myeong Tae-gyun between June 2021 and March 2022, with a total value of approximately 274.4 million won. The issue presented by the Supreme Court is "whether conducting opinion polls or providing their results constitutes a donation of political funds prohibited under the Political Funds Act." Kim Keon Hee was acquitted of this charge in both the first and second trials.
By contrast, the ruling differed in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's case involving the same polls. The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33, presided over by Judge Lee Jin-gwan, found at the first trial that there had been a "sequential and tacit agreement" between the former presidential couple and Myeong Tae-gyun concerning the provision of the polls. It found Yoon Suk Yeol guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison. The respective courts reportedly assessed the credibility of Myeong Tae-gyun's testimony and the objective evidence supporting it differently.
Accordingly, the key issues before the Grand Bench are expected to be whether Kim Keon Hee can be recognized as a co-principal offender in violating the Political Funds Act and whether a tacit agreement concerning the free provision can be recognized solely on the basis of the polls provided and the surrounding circumstances. The Supreme Court previously postponed the scheduled ruling when it referred the case to the Grand Bench.■ Han Duck-soo and Lee Sang-min: Scope of "Performing an Important Role in an Insurrection"On the 5th of last month, the Supreme Court referred the cases of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Minister Lee Sang-min from separate panels to the Grand Bench. The Supreme Court explained at the time, "The cases have drawn extremely high public interest, require historical judicial evaluation, and need to be heard together because the defendants in the two cases are accomplices." The issue in both cases is the "interpretation and scope of the offense of performing an important role in an insurrection."
Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was indicted on charges including failing, as deputy chair of the State Council of South Korea, to fulfill his duty to check the president's arbitrary exercise of power during the December 3 martial-law declaration and participating in the martial-law measures. He is also accused of signing a false martial-law proclamation and then destroying it to conceal procedural defects in the declaration. The first trial sentenced him to 23 years in prison, but the appeals court reduced the sentence to 15 years.
Former Minister Lee Sang-min was brought to trial on charges including relaying, at the direction of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on the day martial law was declared, orders to the National Fire Agency to cut off electricity and water to certain media companies. His sentence was increased from seven years in prison at the first trial to nine years on appeal. Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok's team investigating insurrection and foreign aggression and both defendants appealed the appellate ruling. Han Duck-soo's case has been handled by the Supreme Court's Second Panel, with Justice Oh Kyung-mi in charge, while Lee Sang-min's case has been handled by the Third Panel, with Justice Lee Heung-gu in charge.■ Time Is the Remaining VariableThe three cases have reportedly already exceeded the deadline for issuing rulings set by Article 10(1) of the Special Prosecutor Act. With the defendants' detention expiration dates also approaching, observers say the justices may reach conclusions during this session and designate dates for the rulings.
Meanwhile, the Grand Bench will hand down its ruling at 2 p.m. today in an appeal involving a lawsuit seeking collection proceeds. The issue is whether to maintain or overturn a June 2001 precedent that held that, after a claim has been provisionally attached, the debtor and the third-party debtor may mutually terminate the contract that gave rise to the claim and assert that termination against the creditor with the provisional attachment.

[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter