▲ Chun Wing-so, former chief of the Air Force's legal office
The special prosecution team led by Ahn Mi-young, who investigated the death of the late Sergeant Lee Ye-ram, sentenced former Air Force Headquarters Legal Affairs Officer Chun Ik-so to two years in prison at a hearing held today (15th) by the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Settlement Division 26 (Presiding Judge Chung Jin-ah).
The special prosecutor's team pointed out at today's trial that "Mr. Chun continued to pressure the military prosecutor to provide evidence for the arrest warrant request against Mr. Yang Mo, a member of the military staff, stating that he had stated the information about him, which was an unfair use of his influence such as rank and position."
"Even though he was a general-level military judge who knew better than anyone how important it is to uphold impartiality and objectivity, he obstructed the independent investigation of the military prosecutor," he said, adding, "This is a power-type crime that shows the vertical and closed nature of the military organization and undermines confidence in the impartiality of the military investigative agency."
He said, "Mr. Jeon has no awareness of the problem with the facts of the prosecution and has not shown any remorse," and asked for strict punishment.
Mr. Jeon's side, on the other hand, maintained that there was no use of force in the call with the military prosecutor.
In his closing argument, Mr. Jeon's lawyer countered that "the call to the military prosecutor was inappropriate and imprudent," but that "the contents of the call do not show that he exercised force."
The defense lawyer argued that "at that time, Mr. Chun was in a situation of severe mental distress due to malicious suspicions and media reports that he was the main pillar of the cover-up and poor investigation," and that "he only pleaded his frustration while maintaining the utmost courtesy, but had no intention of obstructing the investigation or becoming aware of the investigative information."
The special prosecution team alleged that evidence such as phone call recordings was collected illegally, and that the indictment violated the principle of Japanism in the indictment, which states that "no documents or evidence other than the indictment shall be attached to the indictment."
After being given the opportunity to speak, Mr. Jeon said, "I am very saddened and saddened by this incident. In retrospect, calling the military prosecutor was not the appropriate thing to do," he said, adding, "I had no intention of exerting pressure, and I never expected to be prosecuted by the special prosecutor." Mr. Chun was indicted in September last year for calling the military prosecutor and complaining that "the warrant was wrong" when an arrest warrant was sought against Mr. Yang, a military officer who had passed security information related to the sergeant's case to him.
At the time of the call, Mr. Jeon's rank was brigadier general, and the military prosecutor was captain.
Mr. Yang was also brought to trial on charges of leaking official secrets.
On that day, the special prosecutor's team sentenced Yang to two years and six months in prison for "receiving personal information for fraudulent purposes and leaking it without legitimate authority."
After the trial, the family of the sergeant told reporters, "The defendants say that their actions are wrong but not guilty, based on the law and existing precedents," and that "this attitude is the core reason why so many victims die in the military."
Sentencing for Mr. Jeon will take place on the 2th of next month.
(Photo=Yonhap News)