'Police Officers Involved in Seizing Samsung Union Members' Bodies Receive Suspended Prison Sentences in First Trial'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Police officers involved in the abduction of the body of the late Yeom Hoseok, a union member of Samsung Electronics Service, and who received bribes, have been sentenced to prison terms.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Jeong Gyesun) sentenced former Yangsan Police Station Information Security Chief Ha Mo to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation, and Information Section Chief Kim Mo to 1 year and 2 months in prison with a 2-year probation on charges including bribery after misconduct. The court stated, "They attempted to reach an agreement for a family funeral instead of a union leader's funeral to block the union leader, and provided convenience for the transport and enshrinement of the body," adding, "It is fully recognized that they received 10 million won from Samsung Electronics Service," and imposed fines of 10 million won each. However, the court noted, "Although it appears that the defendants did not act independently but that higher-ups were deeply involved, no one from the higher-ups was prosecuted," and "In the police organization with a strong hierarchical command, it would have been difficult for the defendants to disobey orders from above, and they likely committed the crime with minimal illegality as members of the organization."

They were indicted on charges including involvement in persuading Yeom’s father to hold a family funeral instead of a union leader’s funeral, contrary to the contents of the suicide note, after Yeom, a Samsung Electronics union member, was found dead in a mountain in Gangneung in May 2014. Ha and Kim have each tried to shift responsibility onto the other in court, claiming "the employee acted on their own" or "we followed orders from superiors." The Police Human Rights Violation Incident Investigation Committee released findings last year from its own investigation that the police unjustly interfered in Yeom Hoseok’s funeral process. However, it ultimately failed to uncover whether there were orders from higher-ups, resulting in only Ha and Kim being prosecuted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.