Supreme Court Denies Prosecutors' Future Committee's Request to Access Kim Yong Trial Records (Comprehensive)

Supreme Court Denies Fact-Finding Team's Request to View and Copy Trial Records

The Truth Investigation Team of the Ministry of Justice’s Prosecutorial Rights Respect for Human Rights and the Future Committee (hereinafter referred to as the “Prosecutors’ Future Committee”), which is investigating allegations of prosecutorial abuse of investigative authority, requested the Supreme Court to provide trial records from the illegal political funds case involving former Deputy Director of the Institute for Democracy, Kim Yong, but the request was denied.

According to legal sources on July 9, the Supreme Court’s First Division (presiding justice: Supreme Court Justice Seo Kyunghwan) rejected the Truth Investigation Team’s request the previous day to inspect and copy the trial records related to the case involving former Deputy Director Kim. While the Supreme Court did not specify the exact reason for denial, it is interpreted that the court determined there was no legal basis for permitting a team that is not a party to the case—such as the defendant or their legal representatives—to access the records of an ongoing trial.

The Prosecutors’ Future Committee was established by the Ministry of Justice by appointing external members to uncover the truth behind allegations of human rights violations and prosecutorial abuse during prosecutorial investigations. The Truth Investigation Team, independently formed under the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, is currently investigating seven cases selected and recommended by the Prosecutors’ Future Committee, including the case involving former Deputy Director Kim, the Ssangbangwool remittance to North Korea case, the Daejang-dong and Wirye development corruption cases, the shooting of a public official in the West Sea, the statistics manipulation case, and the alleged false reporting regarding the 'Yoon Suk-yeol defamation' case.

The Truth Investigation Team maintains that it is securing investigative and trial records of cases under investigation through lawful procedures in accordance with Supreme Prosecutors’ Office guidelines. The guidelines for the formation and operation of the team stipulate that investigative records, trial records, and related documents may be collected and secured. In a statement released that day, the Truth Investigation Team said, “In order to carry out related work, it is necessary to secure and review evidentiary records submitted by the prosecution to the courts,” adding, “We will reapply to the Supreme Court with a detailed explanation of the necessity for inspection and copying.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.