황의조 수사정보 유출 경찰관 ‘징역 1년’ 파기…대법 “증거 부족”

The Seoul Central District Court has overturned and dismissed the original sentence of one year in prison for police officer Kim Young-joo in the illegal recording case of athlete Hong Young-soo, according to the Supreme Court. No direct evidence existed to prove her guilt, but the court deemed it unlawful to change the previous acquittal after just one review.

On July 16, the Supreme Court, through Chief Judge Kim Seong-hwan, overturned the original ruling and sent the case back to the Seoul Central District Court. Kim was accused of disclosing confidential police information in July 2024, when she provided information to lawyer K at Seoul Cyber Investigation Team. The information was then passed on to a broker, who demanded money and surveillance location details in exchange.

Hong's legal team argued that the broker's demands indicated a motive for leaking the information. The first trial found her not guilty, but the second trial changed its verdict to one year in prison, citing evidence that she may have leaked the information to the broker. The Supreme Court found this change in judgment improper, stating that direct evidence is required to convict someone of a crime without any further proof.

The court emphasized that indirect evidence alone is insufficient to prove guilt. Additionally, the Supreme Court noted that the original trial's decision should not have been overturned without further evidence-gathering through procedures such as witness testimony.