Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-cheol faces scrutiny over past ties to a “Seongnam circle” law firm, Daejang-dong remarks and parricide defense

[Financial News] Controversy over the past conduct and legal work of Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-cheol, who is considered part of President Lee Jae Myung’s close-knit “Seongnam circle,” is mounting. The fact that a law firm he once headed took on a criminal case involving a senior current Blue House official has come under scrutiny, along with his past remarks about Daejang-dong development and his record of defending violent criminals.

According to legal sources on the 11th, law firm Saegil, where the nominee served as representative attorney, took on the defense in 2013 of a case accusing Kim Hyun-ji, now head of the First Annex Office at the Office of the President, of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. At the time, Kim was secretary general of the Seongnam Agenda 21 Practice Council. She was summarily indicted on charges of sending residents a false text message claiming that “Councilor Lee of Seongnam had sexually harassed someone.” She requested a formal trial, but the fine of 1.5 million won was upheld.
Law firm Saegil was once home to both the nominee and President Lee Jae Myung. The nominee formed a connection with Lee when he served on the transition committee after Lee was elected mayor of Seongnam in 2010, while Kim was secretary of the same committee. The nominee’s team drew a distinction, saying, “The firm took on that case after the nominee had left Saegil, and he had no involvement whatsoever in taking on the case or the defense.” The nominee was also found to have jointly taken on seven lawsuits with Lee during his time as a lawyer, including damages claims.

The nominee’s past remarks related to the “Daejang-dong allegations” have also stirred controversy. Although he has consistently said he knew nothing about the Daejang-dong development, it has been confirmed that he referred to the development at the Seongnam City Council in September 2014, when he was president of the Seongnam Industry Promotion Foundation.
According to the minutes of the meeting, former city councilor Kim Yong asked, “We need to draw an industrial map covering Wirye New Town, Daejang-dong and other areas.” The nominee replied, “Many things are being carried forward in stages, from abstract plans to the implementation-planning stage.” The confirmation hearing preparation team explained, “Research was conducted on various potentially suitable areas as part of the foundation’s general work; there was no involvement in the Daejang-dong development project.”

It also emerged that in 2004, while serving as a legal secretary at the Blue House, the nominee sued the state seeking compensation for the May 18 Democratic Uprising and lost. He sought compensation on the basis that he had been detained for 40 days after a campus protest in 1980, but neither the committee nor the court recognized him as a qualifying participant.
His record of defending violent criminals when he was a lawyer has also come under scrutiny. The nominee defended the suspect in the Yangpyeong Log Cabin Family Murder Case at the final appeal. In 2003, the suspect killed four members of an investor’s family for fear that a fraud scheme worth several billion won would be exposed. The nominee also represented a defendant charged with killing his biological father and a defendant in an attempted rape causing injury case. The nominee’s team explained, “The law firm took on the cases and submitted its defense team as a whole. His name was included only as a formality, and he had no substantive involvement in the defense.”


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