(October 26, 2024) The current appeal trial panel for the tablet defamation case, which has led to Media Watch CEO Byun Hee Jae’s push for political asylum in the U.S., has temporarily halted its aggressive measures under Judges Um Cheol, Lee Hoon Jae, and Yang Ji Jeong. As a result, the attempt by Yoon Suk Yeol’s prosecution to revoke Byun’s bail and re-detain him also appears to have failed for now.
Tablet appeal trial panel postpones Byun Hee Jae’s questioning and final sentencing
On the October 25th, 2024, the Criminal Appeal Division 4-2(b) of the Seoul Central District Court, overseeing the tablet defamation appeal, referred Byun Hee Jae’s application for the recusal of Judges Lee Hoon Jae and Yang Ji Jeong–submitted on the 24th–to another panel for review rather than dismissing it themselves.
A recusal request against judges generally implies questioning the current panel’s conduct of the trial, so it is usually reviewed by a third panel. However, up until now, Judges Um Cheol, Lee Hoon Jae, and Yang Ji Jeong of the current tablet appeal trial panel have persistently dismissed all MediaWatch’s recusal requests, as they thought the requests were stalling tactics. Thereby, the judges were focused on paving the way for a swift detention sentence for Byun. This time, however, the current panel decided not to suddenly dismiss the recusal request against Judges Lee Hoon Jae and Yang Ji Jeong and has referred it to another panel. As the new panel reviews the request, the tablet defamation appeal proceedings are temporarily suspended.
Previously, Yoon Suk Yeol’s prosecution and Judge Um Cheol from the current tablet appeal panel were moving to cancel Byun Hee Jae’s bail and re-detain him. However, court records now show the tablet appeal trial has been temporarily postponed and noted as pending. Even if another panel promptly dismisses Byun’s recusal request, an appeal would likely take the case to the Supreme Court for final review. The Supreme Court is already reviewing an earlier recusal request from three months ago, initially dismissed by Judges Um Cheol, Yang Ji-jung, and Lee Hoon-jae in just one day for allegedly lacking grounds. The Supreme Court, however, has been deliberating on the matter for three months now.
The actions and abuses of the current appeal trial panel, composed of Judges Um Cheol, Lee Hoon Jae, and Yang Ji Jeong, which Byun Hee Jae has raised objections against, include:
First, the unilateral cancellation of witness testimony from Kim Han Soo, whom Byun has identified since the JTBC report eight years ago as the primary user and main perpetrator behind the manipulation of the tablet.
Second, Judge Um Cheol’s statement, “From now on, any witness or evidence requested will be dismissed unconditionally,” and his practice of instantly dismissing any new evidence submitted by Byun’s side related to the JTBC tablet without review.
Third, Judge Um’s comment, “Aren’t those claiming JTBC’s tablet manipulation merely a force trying to nullify Park Geun Hye's impeachment?” which injected his biased political stance into the trial.
Fourth, when Byun’s side applied for formal court recordings to document such abuses for a recusal request, Judge Um prohibited the recording without any legal basis, even refusing to provide reasons for this decision, saying, “The panel decides as it sees fit, so don’t ask why,” thus conducting the trial with the authoritarian demeanor, reminiscent of the dictatorship in North Korea, Myanmar, and even Korea during Japanese colonial rule.
Byun Hee Jae plans to continue his asylum application if Judge Um’s panel is not replaced
After his wedding on September 28th, Byun Hee Jae departed for the United States for his honeymoon and announced on October 12th, in front of the LA Consulate General, that he will seek political asylum in the U.S. if the Supreme Court does not stop the abuses and misconduct by Judges Um Cheol, Lee Hoon Jae, and Yang Ji Jeong. In his asylum declaration, Byun warned that he would expose how the Korean judiciary, going beyond his personal bias, has conducted a manipulated trial to imprison a journalist in order to cover up the tablet fabrication crime of the powerful figure Yoon Suk Yeol to the U.S. and the international community.
In response, about 50 intellectuals from both political spectrums, including Song Young Gil, Sohn Hye Won, Ahn Jin Geol, Cho Woo Seok, Shin Hye Sik, and Han Min Ho, requested that the Supreme Court replace Judge Um’s panel to prevent the U.S. asylum of journalist Byun Hee Jae. Recently, Byun also submitted an additional recusal request for Judges Lee Hoon Jae and Yang Ji Jeong, asserting, “If you, as the presiding and associate judges, have not conspired with Judge Um Cheol to cover up the fabrication crimes of Yoon Suk Yeol and SK Telecom under the direction of the powerful, allow a different panel to deliberate this recusal request without a self-dismissal.” It appears that Lee Hoon Jae and Yang Ji Jeong have implicitly accepted Byun’s demand for now.
However, some are skeptical that such abuses and deviations by Judge Um Cheol’s panel could stem solely from the personal ambitions of Judge Um, as the tablet manipulation case itself involves serious crimes in which President Yoon Suk Yeol, who appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee Dae, is implicated. Even if Byun’s recusal request is transferred to another panel, doubts remain as to whether a Supreme Court organized under Yoon’s administration would assist in exposing crimes that could destabilize his government. It is likely that the new panel would promptly dismiss the recusal request. If Byun appeals such a dismissal, and if the Supreme Court repeatedly denies his recusal requests, Judge Um’s panel could still handle Byun’s case.
Therefore, Byun Hee Jae plans to proceed with his asylum application if the Supreme Court does not replace Judge Um’s panel and impose severe disciplinary action on Judge Um as a minimum response.
Byun Hee-jae plans to summon Yoon Suk Yeol, Han Dong Hoon, and Cho Hee Dae to testify before the U.S. Congressional hearings if Trump is elected.
Byun Hee-jae has supported Trump since eight years ago. Byun was initially detained due to the tablet case when Yoon Suk Yeol served as the Seoul Central District Prosecutor under the Moon Jae In administration, and he was released in May 2019 after about a year, partly due to statements from around 20 American intellectuals supporting Trump’s policies, including Tara Oh and Gordon Chang, who called for his release. Upon entering the U.S. this time, Byun directly expressed his intention to seek asylum through his attorney Jang Soo Duk to Trump’s team.
If Trump wins the election on November 5th as expected, Byun plans to immediately initiate asylum application procedures with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Alongside this, he intends to work with several Korean-American organizations that support Trump and American intellectuals aligned with Trump’s views to expose Yoon Suk Yeol’s tablet fabrication crime, the manipulation of the trial by the Korean judiciary to cover it up, and issues with Korean media—including publications Korea JoongAng Daily, The Chosun Daily, and The Dong-A Ilbo, as well as left-wing outlets like The Hankyoreh and The Kyunghyang publication, and state broadcasters like MBC and KBS—through Congressional hearings in the U.S..
If such hearings are held, President Yoon Suk Yeol, his alleged co-conspirator Han Dong Hoon (chairman of the People Power Party), Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee Dae, Judge Um Cheol, and heads of the Korean media outlets that actively concealed the truth about the tablet would, in principle, be required to testify before the U.S. Congress.
There is a historical precedent for this; during the Carter administration, which clashed with the Park Chung Hee regime, U.S. Congressional hearings were held regarding human rights abuses under Park’s government, and former K-CIA Director Kim Hyung Uk testified.
