A court has again criticized the second comprehensive special counsel team, led by Kwon Chang-young, for filing a poorly prepared indictment.
The 27th criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Woo In-sung, publicly questioned parts of the indictment on the 20th during a continued pretrial hearing for two former senior Board of Audit and Inspection officials, surnamed Choi and Son, who face charges including obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means.
Referring to a confirmation document the special counsel team identified as a falsified official document, the court asked, "Why is this considered the preparation of a false official document?" and "Isn't this a document written and sent by an individual?"
The document carried no signature or seal from a public official. The court's point was that it is difficult to classify the paper as an official document in the first place, raising doubts about whether a charge of preparing a false official document can stand.
The special counsel team explained that a confirmation document prepared during an audit qualifies as an official document even without a public official's signature, comparable to an interrogation record drawn up by investigative authorities. The court then asked the team to submit any precedent in which a document written by a private individual under their own name was treated as an official document.
The court also asked the special counsel team, "Has dereliction of duty been charged?" The court noted that while the indictment describes the defendants as facing a dereliction of duty allegation, the offense does not appear in the sections listing the charges and the applicable statutes.
When the special counsel team replied that it had been "omitted by mistake," the court ordered the indictment revised.
The defense also asked the special counsel team to specify in detail what each item on the evidence list was intended to prove.
"I have asked about quite a few questionable points, and it does not look like we can conclude the pretrial hearing today," the court said, deciding to hold another pretrial hearing on Dec. 1.
Choi and Son were indicted on the 8th on charges including manipulating an audit report while auditing allegations of preferential treatment in the relocation of the presidential residence under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
Courts have repeatedly pointed out deficiencies in indictments filed by the comprehensive special counsel team in recent cases.
Earlier, the 37-3 criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judges Ryu Chang-sung, Jang Sung-hoon and Oh Chang-seop, said on the 19th at the first pretrial hearing for former Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu, who faces charges of aiding an insurrection, "Doesn't the sentence not fit together?" and added, "Then you need to word it differently."