Lawyers slam prosecution for ‘rigging’ spy scandal

A conservative lobby for lawyers claimed Tuesday that the prosecution abused its investigative authority by submitting what it described as fabricated documents to judges during the trial of a former Seoul City public servant.

“Prosecutors used forged documents (to indict ex-Seoul city official Yu Wu-seong) though they might have been aware of the fact that the documents were forged by the National Intelligence Service,” the Korean Bar Association said during a news briefing.

The association also said that the prosecution has continued to make false statements in court, as judges demanded more proof to back up the espionage charges against Yu, a 34-year-old of North Korean-Chinese heritage

“Further, senior prosecutors treated their junior prosecutors in charge of the case with ‘lenience’ and failed to investigate the informant at the NIS,” the attorneys’ lobby said in statement.

The lobby’s criticism came a day before the first hearing of the Citizens’ Participation Trial, slated for 11 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court, which was requested by Yu in late May.

Apart from the Citizens’ Participation Trial, the prosecution appealed to the Supreme Court right after an appellate court upheld a lower court’s acquittal Yu of spying last April.

Yu was accused of spying for Pyongyang while working at the Seoul municipal government between 2011 and early 2013.

The Seoul Central District Court found Yu not guilty in August 2013, further bolstering allegations that the country’s spy agency fabricated documents to bolster the prosecutors’ case against him.

The Seoul High Court, however, found Yu guilty of failing to disclose his Chinese citizenship when entering the country in 2004 and violating the Act on the Protection and Settlement Support of Residents Escaping from North Korea.

The appellate court sentenced Yu to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, and fined him 25.6 million won ($24,000).

In the verdict, the High Court took into consideration the fact that he had no criminal record in South Korea and acknowledged his patriotism.

The prosecution initially requested a seven-year jail term for Yu, claiming he collected and relayed information on some 200 North Korean defectors here to Pyongyang while working as a public servant.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)