Lee Seong-yoon to Receive 7.63 Million Won in Compensation After Acquittal in Kim Hak-ui Case

Democratic Party Supreme Council member Lee Seong-yoon speaks at a party meeting on livelihoods at the UNESCO International Martial Arts Center in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, on the 25th. (Yonhap)

Lee Seong-yoon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party who was indicted on allegations of improperly pressuring investigators in the so-called “Kim Hak-ui travel ban case” but was ultimately acquitted by the Supreme Court, will receive criminal compensation.

According to the government gazette published on the 6th, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 51, chaired by Senior Judge Jeon Bo-seong, ordered the government to pay Lee 7,631,000 won in cost compensation.

Under the criminal compensation system, the state compensates defendants whose acquittals are finalized for losses tied to detention or trial. Payments are divided into detention compensation and cost compensation, which covers expenses such as attorney fees and transportation.

Lee was indicted by prosecutors in May 2021 on charges that, while serving as head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Anti-Corruption and Strong Force Department in June 2019, he pressured the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office to halt its investigation into the travel ban imposed on former Justice Ministry Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui.

Trial courts in the first and second instances found Lee not guilty, and the Supreme Court finalized the acquittal in June last year. The court said it could not rule out the possibility that the investigative team ended the probe on its own, rather than because Lee exerted improper pressure.

The gazette also said criminal compensation was approved for others whose acquittals were finalized. Kim Tae-han, former CEO of Samsung Biologics, and Kim Shin, former head of Samsung C&T, who were tried alongside Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong over allegations of an improper merger and accounting fraud, will receive 13.77 million won and 5.65 million won, respectively.

Park Hyeong-cheol, former Blue House senior secretary for anti-corruption, who was tried over allegations of covering up an internal inspection involving former Busan Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs Yoo Jae-soo, will receive 7,448,000 won. Jang Hwan-seok, former senior administrative officer in the Blue House’s Balanced Development Secretariat, who was acquitted in a case tied to alleged interference in the Ulsan mayoral election during the Moon Jae-in government, will receive 8,851,000 won in cost compensation.

* This article has been translated by AI.

KWONKYUHONG spikekwon@ajunews.com