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Lee orders thorough probe after prosecutors walk out in protest during ex-Gyeonggi vice governor's trial

Published: 26 Nov. 2025, 19:12

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a session of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 23. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday ordered a "strict and thorough" probe into prosecutors who walked out en masse to recuse the judge panel during the trial of a former Gyeonggi vice governor.

Lee's instructions came a day after the prosecutors handling the so-called drinking party allegations against former Gyeonggi Vice Gov. Lee Hwa-young filed a motion to recuse the judge panel in the trial, which was also set to be heard by a citizen jury.

The prosecutors left the courtroom en masse, citing the court's "unfair handling" of the proceedings.

"The president ordered a prompt and strict internal probe and investigation in accordance with the law and principles regarding actions that disrupted the court order, such as leaving the courtroom en masse," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a press briefing.

Lee Hwa-young has been indicted on the charge of committing perjury at the National Assembly last year with a revelation that he and a head of an underwear maker were treated to alcohol and raw salmon during questioning by prosecutors over their involvement in an illegal remittance to North Korea in 2019.

The illegal remittance case has led to the indictment of President Lee himself, who was Gyeonggi governor at the time of the unauthorized transfer of $8 million to North Korea.

Yonhap