By Kim Da-ye
Kim Yong-pan, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was cleared Thursday of charges of violating the Election Law by hampering a police investigation into allegations that the nation's spy agency tried to influence the 2012 presidential election.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Kim, citing a lack of evidence to prove that he abused his power to minimize the investigation.
The court cited inaccuracy observed in testimonies by Kwon Eun-hee, a former police officer in charge of the investigation against the spy agency and the whistleblower who accused Kim of abusing his power to hamper the investigation.
"All witnesses except Kwon testified that they weren't ordered to make up a certain conclusion of the investigation," the court said in its ruling. "Only Kwon said that the accused unfairly interfered in the investigation…There are no special circumstances to trust Kwon's testimony alone."
Prosecutors argued that other witnesses from the police secretly agreed on what to say in order to avoid retribution within the organization. The court didn't believe that argument.
In December 2012, a female agent of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was investigated for putting political comments on websites, biased against Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party.
The police seized the agent's laptop and analyzed its hard disk. Officers at Suseo Police Station, where the investigation was coordinated, announced to the media that they couldn't find online posts for or against Moon Jae-in or President Park Geun-hye. However, it was later established that the agent had posted political comments on a number of websites.
The prosecution indicted Kim Yong-pan for ordering Suseo Police Station to give false information to the media and delaying the disclosure of the investigation results until the last day of the election campaign. Prosecutors argued that Kim, therefore, illegally campaigned for a particular candidate ― a political activity from which police officers are banned.
While Kim admitted that he approved the press release, he said he didn't know the information was false.
While pointing at the prosecution's lack of evidence and efforts for verifying facts, the judges mentioned that the police could have done its best on the investigation in order to help clear doubts the public might have.
After the ruling, the former Seoul police chief told reporters that he is grateful to the court for restoring his honor and that of the police.
Kim is the first person accused of involvement in the NIS investigation to have his case concluded. Former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon, several former and present NIS agents and a police officer will also face trial in relation to the case.
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| Kim Yong-pan, former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, talks to reporters after he was acquitted on charges of violating the Election Law at Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap |
The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Kim, citing a lack of evidence to prove that he abused his power to minimize the investigation.
The court cited inaccuracy observed in testimonies by Kwon Eun-hee, a former police officer in charge of the investigation against the spy agency and the whistleblower who accused Kim of abusing his power to hamper the investigation.
"All witnesses except Kwon testified that they weren't ordered to make up a certain conclusion of the investigation," the court said in its ruling. "Only Kwon said that the accused unfairly interfered in the investigation…There are no special circumstances to trust Kwon's testimony alone."
Prosecutors argued that other witnesses from the police secretly agreed on what to say in order to avoid retribution within the organization. The court didn't believe that argument.
In December 2012, a female agent of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was investigated for putting political comments on websites, biased against Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party.
The police seized the agent's laptop and analyzed its hard disk. Officers at Suseo Police Station, where the investigation was coordinated, announced to the media that they couldn't find online posts for or against Moon Jae-in or President Park Geun-hye. However, it was later established that the agent had posted political comments on a number of websites.
The prosecution indicted Kim Yong-pan for ordering Suseo Police Station to give false information to the media and delaying the disclosure of the investigation results until the last day of the election campaign. Prosecutors argued that Kim, therefore, illegally campaigned for a particular candidate ― a political activity from which police officers are banned.
While Kim admitted that he approved the press release, he said he didn't know the information was false.
While pointing at the prosecution's lack of evidence and efforts for verifying facts, the judges mentioned that the police could have done its best on the investigation in order to help clear doubts the public might have.
After the ruling, the former Seoul police chief told reporters that he is grateful to the court for restoring his honor and that of the police.
Kim is the first person accused of involvement in the NIS investigation to have his case concluded. Former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon, several former and present NIS agents and a police officer will also face trial in relation to the case.
