Constitutional Court Rules "Aggravated Punishment for Financial Institution Employees Receiving Over 100 Million Won in Bribes is Constitutional"

Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok of the Constitutional Court and the justices are waiting for the start of the constitutional review ruling on the unconstitutionality confirmation constitutional complaint regarding the "Announcement of the Korea-Japan Comfort Women Issue Agreement" held on the 27th at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the provision of the "Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes," which imposes a prison sentence of 10 years or more on financial institution employees who receive bribes of 100 million won or more related to their duties, does not violate the Constitution.

On the 5th, the Constitutional Court announced that in the constitutional complaint case filed by bank employee Yoon, who was indicted on charges of receiving 200 million won from a sales agency, claiming that Article 5, Paragraph 4, Subparagraph 1 of the "Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes" applied to him was unconstitutional, the court decided the provision was constitutional by a vote of 4 (constitutional) to 5 (unconstitutional). Although more justices held the opinion that it was unconstitutional, the number did not reach the required quorum of six for unconstitutionality.

The provision under constitutional review stipulates that financial institution employees who receive bribes of 100 million won or more related to their duties shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for 10 years or more.

The Constitutional Court stated, "As the amount received increases, the blameworthiness of the crime also increases, so there is a rational reason to impose aggravated punishment in stages based on the amount received," and added, "Setting the threshold for aggravated punishment at 100 million won and the minimum prison term at 10 years is a rational decision by the legislature."

It further explained, "Financial institution employees are required to maintain integrity and unbribability comparable to public officials," and added, "The aggravated punishment provision cannot be seen as violating the principle of equality."

Justices Yoo Nam-seok, Lee Seon-ae, Lee Seok-tae, Lee Young-jin, and Moon Hyung-bae expressed opinions that the provision is unconstitutional. They pointed out, "It is very rare in the legal system to criminally punish private individuals who receive bribes related to their duties without improper solicitation, and the provision imposing aggravated punishment based on the amount received is unique to this law."

They continued, "Due to the development and expansion of the financial industry, the duties of financial institution employees have diversified, and there are cases where it is difficult to see that they have a significant impact on the national economy and citizens' lives. However, setting the statutory minimum sentence at 10 years or more imprisonment, which prevents probation even with judicial discretion to reduce the sentence, violates the principle of proportionality between responsibility and punishment."

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