Moon Jae-in and Yoon Seok-yeol, Former Presidents, Face Off in Court at the Seoul Central District Court
As the prosecution has indicted former President Moon Jae-in on charges of bribery, both former presidents will stand trial at the Seoul Central District Court.
Former President Moon is facing allegations of accepting bribes related to his son-in-law’s salary, while former President Yoon has already been indicted on charges of insurrection.
In particular, the prosecution's decision to prosecute Moon's case at the Seoul Central District Court, rather than the Jeonju District Court, indicates that their trials will take place in the same court.
The Seoul Central District Court has assigned the case against former President Moon, who is charged with violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to the Criminal Division 21.
This marks an indictment without detention approximately three years and five months after a civic group's complaint was filed in December 2021. Alongside this, former National Assembly member Lee Sang-jik has also been indicted for bribery and breach of trust.
The prosecution is investigating the connections between Mr. Seo's employment as a senior executive at Thai AirAsia and former member Lee's appointment as chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation.
Despite having no experience in the aviation industry, Mr. Seo was hired as a managing director at Thai AirAsia, and the prosecution has determined this to be an unfair preferential hiring. The salary received by Mr. Seo is viewed as a bribe rather than a normal salary, leading to the indictment of former President Moon and former member Lee.
The contentious point is the prosecution's choice to file the case at the Seoul Central District Court. They explained that the incident's location is centered around the Blue House, and therefore they filed it in the central court based on the "crime scene" standard. However, opposition parties have criticized this as revenge for Yoon's indictment.
Consequently, the possibility has arisen that both former presidents could face the court at the same time.
It has become highly likely that two former presidents will stand trial in the same court for the first time since former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo in 1996.
While former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak were also tried at the Seoul Central District Court around the same time, Park did not appear in court, so they did not share the spotlight together.
Former President Moon may also have a chance to request a change of venue. According to Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Act, a defendant may apply for a change of venue if it is difficult to maintain the fairness of the trial. However, it is generally observed that such requests are rarely accepted.
Additionally, attention is focused on whether the case of former Chief of Staff Cho Hyun-ok will be merged. Former Chief Cho has been indicted without detention on charges of obstructing the exercise of authority and is currently being tried at the Seoul Central District Court.
Image sources: News1, Yoon Seok-yeol / News1, Moon Jae-in / News1
