South Korea's top court upholds acquittal of Lee Jong-ho over destroyed phone
In short
South Korea's Supreme Court on October 8 upheld the acquittal of Lee Jong-ho (이종호), former head of Black Pearl Invest (블랙펄인베스트), who was charged with ordering an associate to destroy his mobile phone while a special counsel examined alleged lobbying for former Marine division commander Lim Seong-geun (임성근). The associate, surnamed Cha, keeps a 3 million won fine. The lower courts held that Lee was a co-principal rather than an instigator and that destroying evidence in one's own criminal case is not punishable.
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South Korea's Supreme Court on October 8 upheld the acquittal of Lee Jong-ho (이종호), former chief executive of Black Pearl Invest (블랙펄인베스트), on a charge of instigating the destruction of evidence. The court's 2nd Division, with Justice Kwon Young-jun (권영준) presiding, dismissed the appeals of the special counsel and of Lee's associate surnamed Cha, who keeps a 3 million won fine. According to CBS NoCut News, the court said the lower ruling contained no legal error on the offence or on the distinction between co-principals and instigators. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Lee was charged with instructing Cha on July 15, 2025, at Jamwon Hangang Park in Seoul's Seocho district, to break and discard his mobile phone. Yonhap reported that Lee first threw the phone to the ground and Cha then stamped on it and put it in a park rubbish bin; Newsis said the two stamped on it until it smoked. The Marine death special counsel team led by Lee Myeong-hyeon (이명현) caught the act as it happened; Hankook Ilbo reported that investigators were tailing Lee. Newsis reported the phone was the device Lee used before the one the special counsel had seized. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
In November 2025 the special counsel sought summary fines of 5 million won for Lee and 3 million won for Cha, but the court sent the case to a formal trial, Yonhap reported. The first-instance and appeals courts acquitted Lee and fined Cha. They treated Lee as a co-principal rather than an instigator and applied the principle that destroying evidence in one's own criminal case is not punishable. According to Yonhap, the appeals court said Lee appeared to recognise he could face punishment if illegal lobbying content on the phone came to light, and rejected the special counsel's argument that it was evidence in someone else's case. Dong-A Ilbo reported the courts found Cha guilty because the phone appeared to be evidence in the alleged pressure over the Marine's death investigation and his intent could be recognised. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
At the time, the special counsel was examining whether Lee used his ties to Kim Keon-hee to lobby for Lim Seong-geun (임성근), former commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division, who was named a suspect in the initial investigation into the death of Corporal Chae. Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo said Lee is known to have managed Kim's account in the Deutsch Motors (도이치모터스) stock manipulation case. Dong-A Ilbo reported that police decided not to refer Lee's lobbying-related allegations to prosecutors. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 ]
Separately, Lee's sentence of one year and two months in prison was finalised for taking money in 25 instances between June 2022 and February 2023 from Lee Jung-pil (이정필), a figure in the Deutsch Motors case, with a promise to help him get a suspended sentence. Yonhap put the sum at more than 80 million won and said the sentence was finalised in July; Dong-A Ilbo said 80 million won. [ 2 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The ruling ends the evidence-destruction case against a man the outlets describe as close to Kim Keon-hee and a central figure in the alleged lobbying over the death of Corporal Chae. All three courts applied the principle that destroying evidence in one's own case is not a crime, and the special counsel's appeal was rejected.
Key facts
- The Supreme Court's 2nd Division, with Justice Kwon Young-jun (권영준) presiding, on October 8 upheld Lee Jong-ho's acquittal on a charge of instigating the destruction of evidence. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The 3 million won fine for Lee's associate surnamed Cha, who broke and discarded the phone, was upheld. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Lee was charged with instructing Cha on July 15, 2025, at Jamwon Hangang Park in Seoul's Seocho district, to break and dispose of his mobile phone. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- The lower courts treated Lee as a co-principal rather than an instigator and held that destroying evidence in one's own criminal case is not punishable. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- The special counsel had sought summary fines of 5 million won for Lee and 3 million won for Cha before the court sent the case to a formal trial. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals of both the special counsel and Cha. [ 2 , 6 ]
- Lee separately has a finalised prison sentence of one year and two months for taking money from Lee Jung-pil (이정필), a figure in the Deutsch Motors (도이치모터스) stock manipulation case. [ 2 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Supreme Court finalised Lee Jong-ho's acquittal on the charge of instigating evidence destruction on October 8. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Cha's 3 million won fine was upheld. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The phone was destroyed in July 2025 at Jamwon Hangang Park in Seocho district, Seoul. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The lower courts acquitted Lee on the grounds that he acted as a co-principal and that destroying evidence in one's own case is not punishable. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- The special counsel was examining Lee's alleged role in lobbying for Lim Seong-geun, former commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division, when it caught the act. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- Who stamped on the phone. Yonhap says Lee threw it down and Cha stamped on it; Newsis says both stamped on it until it smoked; Dong-A Ilbo attributes the stamping to Cha.
- Whether the destroyed phone was the device Lee used before the one the special counsel seized. Only Newsis reports this, and it says the information is reported rather than confirmed.
- Police decision not to refer Lee's lobbying-related allegations to prosecutors. Reported only by Dong-A Ilbo.
- The amount Lee took from Lee Jung-pil. Yonhap says more than 80 million won; Dong-A Ilbo says 80 million won.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Newsis previews the Supreme Court ruling scheduled for the morning. [ 1 ]
- Scheduled start of the Supreme Court's 2nd Division sentencing in courtroom 1 in Seocho district, Seoul. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reports that Lee's acquittal has been finalised. [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy carries a flash report on the finalised acquittal. [ 3 ]