Ex-defense chief release triggers stir

Probe into Lee Myung-bak on break due to court’s ‘rare’ decision

By Lee Kyung-min

The prosecution’s drive to question former President Lee Myung-bak faced a temporary setback Thursday after a district court released former Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin from custody.

Kim is believed to be a key figure in carrying out Lee’s orders to use more personnel to orchestrate online activities that would favor his administration.

Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division Chief Judge Shin Kwang-yeol released Kim, Wednesday, after reviewing a request filed by Kim who claimed a different judge at the court was unjust in having issued the arrest warrant. Using a little known legal loophole, Kim asked the court to review the legality of his confinement, and the court said he didn’t need to be under arrest.

Releasing a key suspect from custody in a high-profile case following a separate such review is rare. Last year, of the 2,406 people who filed the same request, only 15 percent, or 367 people, were released.

Kim was released from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, where he had been detained for 11 days.

Shin said Kim reserved the right to self defense as it was debatable whether what he was accused of could constitute a crime after taking into account his statements and the prosecution’s presentation of what it believed made its case. Shin also said Kim does not pose a flight risk and he is not likely to destroy evidence.

The prosecution fired back, saying it could not accept the court’s decision.

Kim, it said, stated during earlier questioning that under orders from Lee, he increased the number of officers at the Cyber Command unit to 79, shortly before the 2012 presidential election, a near tenfold increase from a year earlier. Kim used officers that Lee called “our people,” construed as those from the North Gyeongsang region with a “pro-Lee administration” stance.

Of the total, 47 were posted at a psychological warfare unit, members of which allegedly posted comments criticizing then-candidate Moon Jae-in, while supporting his conservative opponent Park Geun-hye. Park won the election by a narrow margin.

Kim, the prosecution added, was regularly briefed about the unit’s activities in the April general election in 2012, and his subordinates of the time all admitted to complying with Kim’s orders.

Given the strict hierarchical top-down nature of the chain of command, it added, not holding Kim in custody makes no sense, even more so while his deputy Lim Kwan-bin remains in custody following a court-issued arrest warrant. Lee Tae-ha, who carried out Kim’s orders, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on charges including involvement in destroying evidence of the military’s alleged efforts. The Supreme Court is reviewing his case.

Meanwhile, Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea criticized Shin’s decision, highlighting the similarities between him and Woo Byung-woo, the scandal-ridden former presidential secretary for civil affairs under Park Geun-hye.

Song said on social media that both Shin and Woo were law majors at Seoul National University. The two also completed legal training the same year at the Judicial Training and Research Institute, where only those who passed the state bar exam undergo training before becoming a judge, prosecutor or lawyer. They are both from Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province.

“Shin’s decision all the more highlights why the public should have a bigger say in the country’s legal system,” he said.