Special prosecutor Min Joong-ki seeks 3 years in prison for Chairman Lee Ki-hoon on charges of allowing former Vice Chairman Lee Ki-hoon to escape

Special prosecutor Min Joong-ki requests a three-year prison sentence... Sentencing on the 10th of next month

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Bit-na = Special prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team requested a prison sentence in the appeals court for the chairman of a KOSDAQ-listed company who was indicted on charges of allowing former Vice Chairman Lee Ki-hoon, a key figure in the 'Sambu Construction stock price manipulation suspicion', to escape.

The special prosecution team requested the court to sentence Mr. Lee, who is accused of absconding and hiding a criminal, to three years in prison at a decision hearing held on the 24th by Criminal Division 15-2 of the Seoul High Court (High Court Judges Lee Hee-joon, Seong Eon-ju, and Won Ik-seon). It is the same spherical quantity as the first trial. The accomplice, Mr. Kim, was sentenced to two years in prison.

Mr. Lee's side claimed, "Former Vice Chairman Lee decided to run away on his own, and the defendant provided only minor assistance," and that "the original trial's sentence was unreasonable because it was too heavy."

In his final statement, Mr. Lee appealed for leniency, saying, "I deeply regret my careless actions and am reflecting on them."

The court designated the 10th of next month as the sentencing date.

Mr. Lee was indicted on charges of providing a hiding place, vehicle, and means of communication to former Vice Chairman Lee when he fled ahead of the court's pre-arrest interrogation (video substantive review) in July of last year, and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison in the first trial. Mr. Kim was sentenced to one year in prison.

The first trial court ruled that “the crime in question caused a setback in the investigation, with the investigative agency investing considerable manpower and time to apprehend former Vice Chairman Lee, so the guilt is not light.”

Former Vice Chairman Lee, who was arrested in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do 55 days after fleeing, was arrested and indicted in September last year on charges of taking part in Sambu Construction stock price manipulation between May and June 2023 and making unfair profits of about 36.9 billion won.