Ex-KCC chief asks court to review legality of her detention
Lee Jin-sook, former chief of the Korea Communications Commission, speaks to reporters as she arrives handcuffed at Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Lee Jin-sook, former head of the now-defunct Korea Communications Commission (KCC), filed Friday for a court review of the legality of her detention.
Lee was taken into custody the previous day on suspicion of violating the election law and breaching political neutrality. She was questioned for about three hours on Thursday.
Her request was submitted to the Seoul Southern District Court and argues that the alleged offenses cannot be supported, Lee's lawyer, Lim Moo-young, told reporters at Yeongdeungpo Police Station, where she is held.
Police said they completed questioning Lee at around 6 p.m. and will decide whether to seek a warrant to formally arrest her.
Police need a formal warrant within 48 hours to extend the detention of Lee, who is now under an emergency detention, or must release her once the period expires.
The former KCC chief is accused of breaching political neutrality by making partisan remarks on conservative YouTube channels in September last year.
The remarks were also deemed to violate the election law, as they were allegedly aimed at obstructing the election of President Lee Jae Myung.
Police said her detention followed her repeated failure to comply with summonses for questioning, but Lee countered that she had provided reasons for her absence each time.
Her detention came just one day after she was automatically removed from office following the enactment of a government reorganization bill that abolished the KCC, the state telecommunications regulator, and created a new body overseeing the broadcasting and telecoms sectors, the Korea Media and Communications Commission.
Lee was appointed to a three-year term by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in July 2024.