Former special prosecutor Park Young-soo is attending the trial for a violation of the Anti-Graft Act held at the Seoul Central District Court on July 11 last year./Joint Reporter’s Team
Former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, who was arrested and indicted for the so-called ‘5 billion club suspicion’ case, said in a bail interrogation held on the 11th, “After living in the detention center, I thought that the path I had taken was ‘not very careful.'”
Former special prosecutor Park said this during the bail interrogation conducted by the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun) and requested his release. Former special prosecutor Park was arrested and indicted in August last year on charges of receiving 1.9 billion won from private businesses in Daejang-dong and agreeing to receive 20 billion won worth of money and valuables.
Former special prosecutor Park was given the opportunity to speak by the court and stood up and opened his mouth. Former special prosecutor Park said, “If I had acted more carefully, this would not have happened,” and added, “If you are given the opportunity to leave (the detention center), I will faithfully cooperate with the trial without any trickery or use of my head.” .
Former special prosecutor Park also said, “Many of the younger members of the prosecution are also working hard to waste their power on useless things,” and added, “I would also like to apologize to the judges for their hard work.” He was a former head of the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the prosecution’s anti-corruption control tower, and was later appointed as a special prosecutor and led the investigation into ‘government corruption.’
Former special prosecutor Park’s lawyer argued, “Attorney Nam Wook, a key witness in this case, is retracting much of the statement he made to the investigative agency,” and added, “It is highly likely that the indictment was not supported by sufficient evidence.” The lawyer also said, “All the case materials have been confiscated (by the prosecution), so even if the defendant tries to destroy the evidence, there is no way.” He added, “It would be better to be able to faithfully defend (by being released) rather than being chased during the detention period.”
On the other hand, the prosecution countered, saying, “Former special prosecutor Park already destroyed his cell phone, and people around him hid (evidence), making it difficult for the prosecution to secure it,” and “We cannot conclude that there is no concern about the destruction of evidence.” The prosecution continued, “Even if bail is granted because the detention period has expired, there is a risk of evidence being destroyed through contact with related persons, so please review conditions such as attachment of electronic devices or restrictions on residence.” The expiration date (6 months) of former special prosecutor Park’s arrest is the 20th of next month.
The court said, “He must be released on bail before his arrest expires, and we will review and decide on the attachment of electronic devices.”
2024-01-11 10:25:12
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