Sunshine for Choi Gyu-sun in 174 Days

Choi Gyu-sun (42, photo), after a long, tedious 174 days’ detention, got temporarily released from the detention center to receive a medical operation on his eye at a private hospital. He was charged and arrested for his involvement in many illegal deals in conspiracy with the third son of President Kim Dae Jung, and has been behind bars waiting for a trial.

Criminal Division 23 of Seoul District Court (Chief Judge Kim Yong-hun), which is in charge of Choi’s trial, decided on October 7, 2002, to temporarily release Choi and stated, “Choi has been suffering the glaucoma. But the conditions have got worse. So we decided to move him to Samsung Hospital in Seoul on Oct. 8th, so that he could receive two times of the necessary operations.”

But the court denied Choi’s motion filed on Sep. 12th, alleging that he should be released free on bail due to his deteriorating medical conditions.

In denying the motion, a couple of factors seem to have influenced the court. For one, former high-ranking police officer Choi Sung-gyu, one of Choi’s accomplices in this case, asked Choi to flee together before the officer himself stole out of the country. Secondly, many of the accused in the major cases, who have been released on bail, have fled out of country or turned themselves into fugitives from the law.

In addition, the court could not brush off the strong opposition the prosecution has shwon to Choi’s release. The prosecutor’s office has argued, “Choi has made a categorical denial of all the charges against him. He has contended he is innocent. Under these circumstances, it is not acceptable at all to put him on bail and release him.”

At the same time, the court could no longer disregard the deteriorating medical conditions of Choi. Even his doctor submitted a statement saying, “Choi’s optical neuro-cells are deteriorating day after day to the extent that he might lose the vision permanently.” Thus, the court could not just put off the operation for good. As a compromise, the court allowed Choi to receive the operation, but denied Choi’s motion for release on bail.

The court will first monitor Choi’s medical conditions after the operation. Then, it will consider again whether or not Choi should be released on bail. Since Choi is technically imprisoned even during his treatment, the detention center has to deploy three correctional officers during the daytime, and 7 at night.

In response, Choi’s defense attorney Kang Ho-sung showed disappointment and commented, “The prosecution has acted too sensitively. It seems to have given too much attention to what the press would think.”

Jin-Kyun Kil leon@donga.com