Court to decide how to proceed with hearing for ex-president Lee Myung-bak
- 6 years ago
Let's start with sticky legal situation former-president Lee Myung-bak finds himself in.
A court hearing set for today was called off on Wednesday.
The hearing was set to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for the ex-South Korean leader over a dozen corruption charges.
Lee's staff told the prosecution that neither Lee nor his lawyers will be going,... but they told the court otherwise, saying his lawyers will attend.
Let's turn to our Park Hee-jun, standing by at the Seoul Central District Court...
Hee-jun, it's a confusing situation,... just walk us through what's happening...
Mark. Lee Myung-bak made it clear on Wednesday that he won't attend the hearing that was originally set for this morning,... saying he already explained himself during last week's questioning at the prosecution.
But this hearing would have basically been his last chance to defend himself prior to his potential arrest.
There could be various reasons why he decided to give up this opportunity.
It could be because he is preparing for what's to come later-- the actual trial.
Prosecutors previously revealed that the former president was surprised by the evidence they showed him during last week's interrogation.
And if prosecutors question him on more details Lee is unprepared for,... he could put himself at a disadvantage when comes to the trial,... which is a bigger deal than whether he's arrested or not.
He could also be protesting his stance that this entire investigation is political revenge by the liberal Moon Jae-in administration.
By refusing to appear he could be showing that he's not going to bend to what he thinks is a witchhunt.
So,... we are reading between the lines, but they seem like reasonable explanations. Perhaps it's a combination of the two. Then how will things proceed today without the former president?
Well first of all, there's no defendant.
Under normal circumstances,... deciding on whether to issue an arrest warrant requires further questioning in the courtroom.
Instead, there are various options being considered.
One is calling in the ex-president through an arrest warrant for further questioning.
The court could also set another date for a hearing with just his lawyers.
Or instead,... the court could just proceed today without a hearing,... and instead review the documents submitted by the two sides.
In this case, an arrest warrant for the man who was president of South Korea between 2008 and 2013 could be issued as early as tonight.
That's all I have for now, but I'll be back during our next newscast at noon. Mark.
A court hearing set for today was called off on Wednesday.
The hearing was set to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for the ex-South Korean leader over a dozen corruption charges.
Lee's staff told the prosecution that neither Lee nor his lawyers will be going,... but they told the court otherwise, saying his lawyers will attend.
Let's turn to our Park Hee-jun, standing by at the Seoul Central District Court...
Hee-jun, it's a confusing situation,... just walk us through what's happening...
Mark. Lee Myung-bak made it clear on Wednesday that he won't attend the hearing that was originally set for this morning,... saying he already explained himself during last week's questioning at the prosecution.
But this hearing would have basically been his last chance to defend himself prior to his potential arrest.
There could be various reasons why he decided to give up this opportunity.
It could be because he is preparing for what's to come later-- the actual trial.
Prosecutors previously revealed that the former president was surprised by the evidence they showed him during last week's interrogation.
And if prosecutors question him on more details Lee is unprepared for,... he could put himself at a disadvantage when comes to the trial,... which is a bigger deal than whether he's arrested or not.
He could also be protesting his stance that this entire investigation is political revenge by the liberal Moon Jae-in administration.
By refusing to appear he could be showing that he's not going to bend to what he thinks is a witchhunt.
So,... we are reading between the lines, but they seem like reasonable explanations. Perhaps it's a combination of the two. Then how will things proceed today without the former president?
Well first of all, there's no defendant.
Under normal circumstances,... deciding on whether to issue an arrest warrant requires further questioning in the courtroom.
Instead, there are various options being considered.
One is calling in the ex-president through an arrest warrant for further questioning.
The court could also set another date for a hearing with just his lawyers.
Or instead,... the court could just proceed today without a hearing,... and instead review the documents submitted by the two sides.
In this case, an arrest warrant for the man who was president of South Korea between 2008 and 2013 could be issued as early as tonight.
That's all I have for now, but I'll be back during our next newscast at noon. Mark.