161124 Fourth Trial of Defendant A & Her Accomplices on Charges of False Accusation and Attempted Extortion

1. Date and Time
Nov. 24, 2016, 2 PM

Note 1: The trial was scheduled to start at 2:00 pm, but it was delayed about 15 minutes due to the late arrival of the defendants who have been imprisoned. The news that reported the late start was due to the first witness, i.e. Yuchun was totally untrue (Kim Yeseul, BizEnter, Nov 24th). Before the witness testimony was started, all the audience were still inside the court and many Korean fans heard the judge saying that defendants had not arrived at the court yet.

2. Judicial Bench
Seoul Central District Criminal Court 15 Single Judge Choi Jong Jin

3. Defendants
1) Lee, so-called A, charged with false accusation & attempted extortion, imprisoned
2) Hwang (mob) charged with attempted extortion, imprisoned
3) Lee (Defendant Lee’s boy friend) charged with attempted extortion, not imprisoned

Note 2: This case is the case of false accusation and attempted extortion. The above three people stand the trial as the defendants. Many of Korean newspapers still mislead the information on the relationships among the three defendants. Many of them still report Defendant Hwang is Defendant Lee (A)’s cousin, but it is NOT true. Mob Hwang was introduced to the other two defendants to plan and execute their crime when they premeditated it (Refer to this posting by 6002Sky https://goo.gl/7rFudU) Defendant Lee (A) and Defendant Lee (BF) are living together at the same address and such fact was pointed out by the Judge at the 1st trial.

Note 3: Mob Hwang was indicted for two other fraud cases. Thus, all three cases were consolidated together and he has been tried for three cases at the same court. Under the Korean Criminal Procedure Act, Article 300, the court may order the consolidation of oral proceedings (i.e., trial cases) upon request of a prosecutor or defense counsel or ex officio to reduce repetitive procedures.

4. The Testimony of the Witnesses
Three witnesses testified at the 4th trial including Yuchun. The witness testimony was held at the closed court. The testimony of the 1st witness, Yuchun started around 2:17 PM. The 2nd one and the 3rd entered the court at 3:30 and at 4:00 PM, consecutively. The last witness testimony ended around 4:20 PM.

Note 4: All of the witness testimonies for this case are being held at the closed court. So, any Korean news reporting that only Yuchun’s testimony was held at the closed court is not true. Korean fans have attended the court since the 1st trial has begun and they all know this case has proceeded in the closed court. Before they attended the 4th trial, they had known they could not have any chance to see Yuchun. They went to the court, not from the yearning to see Yuchun, but from the wish to deliver their continuous support for him by showing up there. Thus, any news reporting that many fans came to the court to see Yuchun on this day is a total fabrication. On the contrary, many reporters came to the court without any preparation for the subject of their coverage and without the knowledge on the closed court so that many of them didn’t understand the announcement by the Judge for the audience to leave the court when the testimony began. While the testimony proceeded, there was a sound of crying from the corridor of the below floor. This sound didn’t come from the court assigned to this case. So, the following report by a Korean newspaper is a complete fabrication solely based on the reporter’s delusion: a big sound of crying came out from the court transferring the heated atmosphere and fans fussed and sharply reacted to it (Kim Yeseul, BizEnter, Nov 24th).

Note 5: The 1st witness was Yuchun, the victim of this case. He was called by the Defense Counsel as a witness and the Judge accepted it. Any news reporting that Yuchun volunteered to come to the court as a witness is untrue. The witnesses are selected by prosecutors or defense counsel. The judge has a right to make a final decision to allow or reject a witness in consideration of the fair trial for defendants and the appropriateness of the witness in question for the case. The Defense Counsel in this case has called many witnesses who have already been questioned at the police investigation stage. The request by the Defense Counsel seems to be a strategy to prolong the trial process.

Note 6: Yuchun applied for the witness support procedure on Nov 21 and was able to secure the protection for himself when he appeared in the court. He used a different path from the general entrance used by the visitors so that no media was able to take his photos on this day. The witness support procedure is a service run by many Korean courts to ensure safe environment for the victims of the criminal cases and to protect them not to face the defendants or their family when they have to appear in the court as witnesses. So, it was not a special arrangement only made for Yuchun. Anybody facing similar problems when they are called as a witness can apply to use this service. Thus, any news reporting this was a special benefit to Yuchun or he secretly entered the court hiding from people’s eyes are not true. In Yuchun’s case, he obviously needed the protection from the exposure to the excessive interests by the Korean media. Korean fans who attended the trial witnessed many reporters waiting at different entrances and corners of the court and trying to get the information on Yuchun’s location.

5. The End of the 4th Trial
After the testimony by three witnesses, the trial ended.

Note 7: Many Korean fans went to the court for the 4th trial and calmly stood by Yuchun. As you all know, Korean chunsas always quietly support Yuchun. They were wearing the sunflower brooches provided by a Korean Chunsa. She was the one who lead the discussion at DCPYC on wearing sunflower brooches as a symbol to show our undying support for Yuchun. She made them at her own expense and distributed them to the fans. But, she wants to remain anonymous. Korean fans have attended the trials until now mainly because they need to witness the whole process and to record the true facts for this case. Especially for the 4th trial, they went there to monitor conscienceless reporters who were expected to be present to grasp Yuchun. Actually, many reporters came with cameras, but failed to pick any of his traces. Fans also happened to play the role to prevent the reporters to cross the fence and to approach the court door for eavesdropping. Between Nov 24 and 25, there were total of 56 reporters on Yuchun’s appearance in the court as a witness. But, as partly explained above, most of them still convey false contents and mislead the viewers. Reporters are well aware of any news including Yuchun’s name guarantee enough clicks. More clicks bring more compensation to them and result in encouraging their sensational and irresponsible way of writing news. Therefore, please refrain yourself from clicking any Korean news or including their links in your own SNS postings unless verified and provided by Korean Chunsas. These reporters should stop such irresponsible behaviors derived from the lack of self-awareness of the role as reporters.

Sources: Blog1 & Blog2

Compiled & Translated by: Uttunfan via 6002sky

*DO NOT EDIT*