Supreme Court Confirms Guilty Verdict for Former Civil Affairs Secretary Kim Jin-mo in NIS Special Activity Funds Embezzlement... Acquitted of Bribery Charges

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[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The suspended prison sentence for Kim Jin-mo, former Blue House Civil Affairs Second Secretary, who was indicted for illegally receiving special activity funds from the National Intelligence Service, has been finalized.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yoo-sook) announced on the 12th that in the final appeal trial of Kim, who was indicted on charges of embezzlement in the course of duty and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, the court upheld the guilty verdict on embezzlement in the course of duty and confirmed the original sentence of one year imprisonment with a two-year suspension.

The court stated, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience, exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterprets the law regarding co-conspirators."

Kim, who worked at the Blue House during the Lee Myung-bak administration, was indicted on charges of requesting funds from the National Intelligence Service in April 2011 to use for covering up allegations of illegal civilian surveillance by Jang Jin-soo, a former official of the Prime Minister's Office Public Service Ethics Support Office, and receiving 50 million won.

Previously, the first and second trials concluded that there was a shared understanding between Kim and former NIS Director Won Sei-hoon regarding the purpose of the special project funds requested by Kim, and considering the process of fund transfer, Kim was not merely riding on Won's embezzlement but actively instigated and participated in the embezzlement of special project funds, thus controlling the crime. The Supreme Court also found no problem with this judgment.

Meanwhile, the prosecution indicted Kim on bribery charges as well, considering that he worked in the Civil Affairs Office, which performed duties such as 'performance evaluation' and 'constant supervision through monitoring' of former Director Won, who was facing calls for dismissal at the time, thus establishing a job-related connection between the two.

However, the first and second trials acquitted Kim of bribery, reasoning that he received the money for the purpose of giving it to former Secretary Jang, that former Director Won and NIS staff were aware of this fact, and that Kim and Won should be regarded as having conspired to embezzle the NIS special project funds. The Supreme Court also found no error in the lower courts' judgment.

Kim, a graduate of the 19th Judicial Research and Training Institute, was dispatched to work at the NIS in 2008. After completing his dispatch to the Blue House, he served as ▲Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Busan District Prosecutors' Office ▲Director of the Planning and Coordination Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office ▲Chief Prosecutor of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office ▲Chief Prosecutor of Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, before leaving the prosecution and opening a law practice in 2017.

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