Although former Vice Minister of Justice Mr. Hak Eui KIM was initially acquitted in the first trial, he was found partially guilty and sentenced to imprisonment of 2 years and 6 months in the second trial where the appellate court validated the testimony of a witness who reversed his original statement. DR & AJU represented Mr. Kim in the third trial and argued against the credibility of a testimony made after the pre-trial witness interview by the prosecution based on legal principles. The Supreme Court recognized the questionable validity of the testimony, quashed the decision of the second trial, and remanded the case.
This decision is significant as it was the first case where the Supreme Court ruled on the credibility of testimonies made after the pre-trial witness interview by the prosecution and presented a standard for determining the credibility of such testimonies, thereby laying the basis for regulating unilateral pre-trial interviews by the prosecution.
In the new trial at the appeals court, DR & AJU persuaded the court into rejecting the testimony in question on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove that it did not pressure or persuade the witness into giving a favorable testimony and successfully secured a full acquittal for Mr. Kim. This ruling was finalized after the Supreme Court dismissed the prosecution’s appeal.
