Kim Dong-ah "The decision to start a retrial must be carefully judged on the immediate appeal of the Changwon taxi driver's murder."

(Changwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeong Jong-woo = Representative Kim Dong-ah of the Democratic Party of Korea requested on the 20th that the Public Prosecution Service carefully consider an immediate appeal regarding the 'Gyeongnam Changwon taxi driver murder case', which recently decided to initiate a retrial.

Representative Kim made this announcement at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit of the Changwon Regional Public Prosecutors' Office held at the Daegu Metropolitan Public Prosecutors' Office on this day.

He said, "In 2009, the police indicted and convicted a 19-year-old student from Uzbekistan using his confession as the only evidence in a case without fingerprints, DNA (genetic information), or witnesses."

He continued, "In the court's decision to initiate a retrial, it was acknowledged that the police officers at the time lied that DNA (of the defendant at the scene of the incident) was detected during the investigation or that the deceased victim was alive, and that they conducted the investigation without providing an interpreter."

He added, "The court's decision to initiate a retrial clearly states that (the police's actions) amount to abuse of power and obstruction of the exercise of rights," adding, "Nevertheless, the Changwon Regional Public Prosecution Office is said to be considering an appeal. We hope that it will make an appropriate decision."

In relation to this, Rep. Kim mentioned the 'Kim Shin-hye retrial case', which is still in appeal after the retrial decision was made in 2015.

In response to Representative Kim's criticism, Lim Seung-cheol, head of the Changwon Regional Public Prosecution Office, responded, "We will decide on an immediate appeal after carefully reviewing the decision, records at the time, and illegal parts related to the investigation process."

Recently, the court decided to initiate a retrial and suspend the execution of the case of Bozorov Akmal (37), an Uzbek citizen who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a taxi driver in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do in 2009.

The court said, "During the investigation at the time, it is proven that the police committed the crime of abuse of power and obstruction of the exercise of rights," and ruled that the police investigating Akmal had violated the right to an interpretation by admitting that they had lied about the deceased victim being alive in order to induce a confession.