Prosecution Indicts 3 in 'Kim Bonghyeon Drinking Entertainment Allegation'... 2 Prosecutors Not Indicted

Kim Bong-hyun, Lawyer, Prosecutor Indicted... Charges of Violating 'Kim Young-ran Act'
"July 18 Night Drinking Entertainment... Fabricated Investigation Is Groundless"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The prosecution investigating the 'allegations of prosecutors receiving alcohol entertainment' has indicted a prosecutor and a lawyer, both former prosecutors, who were identified as recipients of the entertainment. This comes exactly 53 days after former chairman Kim Bong-hyun exposed the allegations through a letter from prison.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's dedicated investigation team for prosecutor entertainment and investigation cases (led by Kim Rak-hyun, Head of Criminal Division 6) announced on the 8th that lawyer A, prosecutor B, and former chairman Kim were indicted on charges of violating the Kim Young-ran Act (Act on the Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Graft).

According to the prosecution, they are accused of receiving alcohol entertainment worth approximately 5.36 million KRW from former chairman Kim at a room salon in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, from 9:30 PM on July 18 last year until 1 AM the following day.

The prosecution explained that two other prosecutors who were present at the drinking party returned home before 11 PM, and after excluding the amount of entertainment received by them and apportioning the rest, the amount per person was less than 1 million KRW, so they were not indicted. However, it was decided to request future disciplinary actions such as internal investigations against them.

Former chairman Kim claimed that he was merely the entertainer and that the alcohol expenses should be split among four people: three prosecutors and lawyer A. However, the prosecution judged that considering the circumstances and purpose of Kim’s attendance at the drinking party, the entertainment was shared together.

In an official statement released through his lawyer in October, former chairman Kim revealed that in July 2019, he provided alcohol entertainment worth about 10 million KRW to three active prosecutors through lawyer A.

In response, the prosecution conducted searches at 17 locations including the homes and mobile phones of lawyer A and the prosecutors, and investigated over 30 suspects and witnesses as part of the ongoing investigation.

The prosecution identified the date of the entertainment as July 18 based on forensic data from the mobile phone of a bar employee, receipts presumed to have been issued at the time, and testimonies from related parties.

Notably, the prosecution convened a prosecutorial citizen committee the day before to gather opinions from ordinary citizens regarding the subjects of indictment and applicable laws.

However, the prosecution concluded that the allegations raised by former chairman Kim in his prison letter regarding concealment of the alcohol entertainment report and coercion to retract statements about 'political and business lobbying' were unfounded.

The prosecution stated, "We investigated the responsible prosecutors, investigators, and participating lawyers and reviewed related materials but found no evidence to substantiate the allegations," adding, "It was also confirmed that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office leadership and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office were not informed of the related allegations."

Regarding claims of a 'fabricated investigation,' the prosecution explained, "Former chairman Kim was mostly interrogated with his lawyers present, and the lawyers did not raise any objections to the investigation procedures," and added, "The political and business lobbying case is currently under investigation."

Furthermore, the prosecution stated that former chairman Kim’s claims concerning ▲ concealment of crimes related to opposition party politicians ▲ coercion and threats against a former Blue House administrator ▲ luxury gift lobbying targeting lawyer A’s spouse were inconsistent with the facts.

A prosecution official said, "We will continue to investigate allegations raised by former chairman Kim regarding misconduct involving current and former prosecutors’ investigators and case dismissals through former prosecutors turned lawyers."

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