Posted on : Mar.14,2019 16:53 KST

Ex-president Chun Doo-hwan’s residence in Seoul’s Yeonhui neighborhood

Attorney claims residence is not Chun’s private property and is registered to wife and others

“Kicking a 90-year-old man out of his house threatens his right to live,” argued Jung Ju-gyo, the attorney of Chun Doo-hwan, 88, ex-president of South Korea. Jung made the claim on the morning of Mar. 13 before Hon. Jung Jun-yeong, head of the 1st Criminal Division at the Seoul High Court in the Seocho neighborhood.

Two days earlier, the same lawyer contended that Chun wasn’t guilty of defamation of the deceased in a trial connected with the Gwangju Democratization Movement.

In December 2018, the prosecutors decided that they would put Chun’s house in Seoul’s Yeonhui neighborhood up for auction. They seized the house in Sept. 2013 to recoup some of Chun’s more than 100 billion won (US$88.28 million) in outstanding fines.

A lawsuit objecting to the prosecutors’ move was filed by the three people in whose name the house is registered – Lee Sun-ja, Chun’s wife; Lee Taek-su, his former secretary; and Lee Yun-hye, the wife of his third son. The first hearing in this lawsuit was held on Wednesday, in the absence of the three Lees.

“A criminal sentence is supposed to be executed against the criminal defendant, in this case Chun Doo-hwan. Since Chun’s personal residence is registered under the name of other people, this action is invalid,” said Jung, representing the plaintiffs.

“The fine pertains to a slush fund accumulated during Chun’s presidency in the 1980s, but his personal residence in the Yeonhui neighborhood is property that was acquired in 1969. Since this property isn’t derived from his illegal proceeds, the prosecutors’ action is unconstitutional.”

Chun exits the Gwangju District Court after the first hearing in his trial for defamation of the deceased on Mar. 11. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)

Chun’s eldest son stated in 2013 that the house was his father’s property

The prosecutors countered that the house in the Yeonhui neighborhood is effectively controlled by Chun, despite being registered under other people’s names, and emphasized the legitimacy of executing the fine. The Yeonhui neighborhood house was purchased by Chun with money he’d saved during the 14 years after he graduated from the Korea Military Academy, and his wife, Lee Sun-ja, didn’t have any income at the time. The prosecutors also cited as evidence a statement made by Chun’s eldest son, Chun Jae-guk, in 2013, while being questioned by the prosecutors, that the Yeonhui neighborhood house was the property of his father.

“It’s obvious that the Yeonhui neighborhood residence is Chun Doo-hwan’s property. Chun’s wife, Lee Sun-ja, didn’t make any objections during the five years since the seizure process began in 2013,” the prosecutors said.

The prosecutors asked the court to reject the argument advanced by Chun’s legal team. “Chun had asked us not to auction off the house for the remainder of his life. But now that we’re moving forward with the public auction, he’s claiming that he’s not the effective owner of this property, contradicting his previous position,” they said.

Jung countered as follows: “The prosecutors’ execution of the fine in 2013 was illegal because it exceeded the authority of the law and the constitution. The reason that Chun didn’t object despite that is because he felt sorry for the Korean people.”

The court will be holding its second hearing on Mar. 27.

Thus far, the prosecutors have collected 115.5 billion won (US$101.95 million), or about half, of Chun’s total fine of 220.5 billion won (US$194.64 million). The deadline for reclaiming Chun’s unpaid fines is 2020.

By Ko Han-sol, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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