(August 8, 2023) On March 17, prosecutors filed a request to revoke the bail of Byun Hee-jae, Head of Media Watch. It was later confirmed that the reason for the request was a rally Byun held to criticize Yoon Seok-yeol and Han Dong-hoon. Criticisms are expected to intensify as the prosecution abuses its authority to shield the incumbent administration from investigation. 

On the 8th, Lee Dong-hwan, an attorney representing Media Watch, including Byun Hee-jae, sent us a document titled "Request to Revoke Bail and Confiscate Deposit of Defendant Byun Hee-jae" signed by Prosecutor Sung Jin-young of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. In its request, the prosecution said that Byun violated one of his bail conditions, which states that he "shall not participate in any rallies or demonstrations that may be related to this case."

"The defendant Byun Hee-jae participated in several rallies from the time he was released on bail until recently, making claims such as that the tablet PC was tampered with," the prosecution said.

 "If you check only the relatively recent articles, he participated in more than 10 rallies from around '22.11.19' to around '23.7.7' as described in the <table> below," the prosecution added.

According to the table presented by the prosecution, Byun participated in a rally in Namdaemun demanding the resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol, a rally in front of SK Group regarding Choi Tae-won, a rally in front of Tower Palace regarding Han Dong-hoon, and held a press conference in front of former President Park Geun-hye's Dalseong residence during this period. This period also coincides with a period when the issue of suppression of evidence in "Second Choi Soon-sil Tablet" was raised by the Korea Cyber Forensic Professionals Association (KCFPA).

In the bail revocation motion, the prosecution specifically cited the July 14 rally in front of Attorney Hong Seong-jun's office titled "Hong Seong-jun Who Detained Byun Hee-jae Pretrial and Sought 5 Years in Prison Should Confesses to Yoon Seok-yeol's Involvement in the Scheme." 

They also cited the July 15 candlelight and Taegeukgi rally in front of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon's residence (Tower Palace) titled "Han Dong-hoon Should Confesses to the 'Second Choi Soon-sil Tablet' Fabrication Investigation." The prosecution described these two rallies as "directly related to the case."

Many lawyers are not convinced by the prosecution's motion to revoke bail. The premise of bail is to secure an appearance at trial or protect victims, but Byun Hee-jae has not fled the country, nor has he made any threats against JTBC officials who are victims of the case. In fact, there is no precedent for revoking bail for holding rallies or protests, according to lawyers who responded to our request for advice.

It's also unclear what the prosecution is referring to as "any rally or demonstration that could be related to this case." As the prosecution specifically cited Yoon Seok-yeol and Han Dong-hoon's criticism as a  "rally directly related to the case," there are even criticisms that the prosecution itself may have confessed that Yoon Seok-yeol and Han Dong-hoon were directly involved in the tablet manipulation scheme.

"If they re-detain me for holding a rally criticizing Yoon Seok-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, rather than a rally criticizing JTBC officials, it is a clear sign that the incumbent administration's demise is very close," said Byun Hee-jae. 

"If a hearing on my bail revocation begins, I will explain this to the court and apply for a change in the bail conditions that restrict my constitutional freedom of assembly," he added.

A hearing on the revocation of Mr. Byun's bail can only take place after the recusal application against the court which Byun filed has been finalized. The recusal application was only recently heard by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Sung Jin-young, the prosecutor who requested the revocation of his bail, was confirmed to be one of the prosecutors who expressed a favorable stance toward Yoon through the Chosun Ilbo newspaper during the disciplinary crisis of Prosecutor General Yoon in late 2020.