Three lawyers, including Lee Ha-sang, sue Guk Soo-bon for allegedly destroying evidence from special prosecutor Lee Tae-han.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Cho Hyun-young = Lawyers Lee Ha-sang, Ko Young-il, and Kim Ji-mi filed a complaint against National Election Commission Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han to the National Investigation Headquarters on charges of destruction of evidence.

They issued a press release on the 30th and announced that they had accused Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han of destruction of evidence, dereliction of duty, and escaping criminals.

They claimed that Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han confiscated the ballot boxes stored at the Olympic Park handball stadium, separated them from the National Election Commission, the subject of investigation, and had a duty to secure and preserve evidence, but instead of confiscating them, he conducted a public inspection on the 28th and handed over the ballots, etc. to the National Election Commission.

On the 28th, the special investigation team conducted a public verification of items such as approximately 2.47 million ballots from Songpa-gu and on-site CCTV over 12 hours at the Olympic Park handball stadium.

After verification, out of the 433 boxes containing ballots, 420 boxes of ballots that were verified to be intact were taken by the National Election Commission, and 13 boxes containing contested ballots were taken out by the special investigation team.

Regarding the charges of destruction of evidence and criminal escape, lawyer Lee and others argued that the ballot papers and ballot boxes, which are key evidence of election-related crimes, were handed over to the National Election Commission and transported and hidden in another location, making it difficult for investigative agencies to secure evidence and discover the criminal.

It was argued that the special prosecutor's actions amounted to 'disclosure of official secrets' under the law on the appointment of special prosecutors.

They said, "We demand that the stolen ballots and related records be immediately secured and a thorough investigation be conducted against Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han, the special prosecutor team officials who decided and executed the export, and the National Election Commission officials. We urge them to strictly hold them criminally responsible by identifying the contents of the special prosecutor's instructions and approvals, their intent, and the extent of their involvement in the crime."

Lawyers Lee Ha-sang, Ko Young-il, and Kim Ji-mi participated in the defense team when former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun was being tried on charges of rebellion related to the December 3 martial law situation, but resigned last June.