'Controversy over delay in the Constitutional Court' 2nd trial of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act case concludes... Sentencing will be announced later

The second trial of a case involving violations of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, which attracted attention as the criminal division of the court announced that it would look into the delay in the hearing at the Constitutional Court, has concluded.

The court postponed the designation of the sentencing date to make various judgments related to the litigation process.

On the 9th, Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Settlement Division 50 (Senior Director Jeon Bo-seong) held a trial on the case of Jin Cheon-gyu, CEO of Tongil TV, on charges of violating the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act and proceeded with the decision-making process.

The prosecution requested that the defendant's appeal against the first trial conviction be dismissed.

In his final statement, Mr. Jin pleaded not guilty, saying, "When bringing goods from North Korea, I intentionally removed everything I thought would benefit the enemy and brought video CDs and articles from the Rodong Sinmun about nature and food, etc." and added, "I cannot understand whether they are worthy of standing up in a criminal court."

After declaring the conclusion of the argument, the court said, "If the (Constitutional Court's) judgment on the merits comes out and we can judge the substance and determine the legality of filing the indictment, we will do so. Otherwise, we will have to consider procedural issues as well," and added, "We will leave the sentencing date as estimated (designated at a later date)."

This is interpreted to mean that the sentencing date will be set after reviewing not only whether Jin's charges are established, but also the delay in the Constitutional Court's hearing on Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, which is a key legal provision in this case.

Mr. Jin was indicted in October 2020 on charges of importing North Korean books and video materials without permission in August 2018.

In the first trial, he applied for an adjudication of the constitutionality of the provisions applied to him, but when it was rejected, he directly requested an adjudication of the unconstitutionality petition to the Constitutional Court in June 2022.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 50, which was in charge of the second trial, suspended the trial until the results of the constitutional appeal were reached, but when no conclusion was reached after four years, it announced in June that it would review the issue of the delay in the hearing at the Constitutional Court.

The purpose is for the judiciary to look into whether basic constitutional rights, including the defendant's right to a speedy trial, have been violated by the Constitutional Court's delay in hearing.

The court emphasized the need for review by distributing explanatory materials to reporters and even preparing presentation (PPT) materials in court.

Last September, four years and three months after the constitutional petition was filed, the Constitutional Court decided that the provisions of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act were constitutional, but Civil Agreement Division 50 of the Seoul Central District Court announced that it would examine whether the constitutional trial process itself violated the fundamental rights of the parties, regardless of the content of the decision.