‘Kim Bong-hyun Political Fund Bribery’ Lee Sang-ho, Democratic Party Regional Chairman, Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison

Court: "Raising Political Funds Unfairly as a Politician"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Lee Sang-ho, former regional committee chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea in Busan Saha-eul, who was indicted for receiving illegal political funds from Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility, has been sentenced to imprisonment.

The Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Chief Judge Shin Hyuk-jae) sentenced Lee to two years in prison and ordered a fine of 30 million KRW on the 22nd for charges including violation of the Political Funds Act.

The court stated, “The defendant is a well-known public politician who should have transparently raised political funds, but he received 30 million KRW through improper means, which is a serious offense,” adding, “However, the absence of prior convictions for similar offenses was considered a mitigating factor in sentencing.”

Earlier, Lee was indicted on charges of receiving 56 million KRW into his younger brother’s account as a return for the cooperative, where he served as auditor, investing in the acquisition of an asset management company owned by former chairman Kim.

He is also accused of having Kim’s side purchase socks worth about 18 million KRW from his brother’s company and pocketing around 30 million KRW himself.

At the sentencing hearing held on November 20 last year, Lee’s defense argued, “Kim Bong-hyun testified in court as a witness that the money he gave was not political funds but a loan given out of apology,” and requested a not guilty verdict for the defendant who was unfairly detained.

In fact, the key witness, former chairman Kim, reversed his statement from the prosecution investigation, saying, “At the time I deposited 30 million KRW to the company run by Lee’s brother, there was no discussion with Lee about election-related matters,” and “Lee asked for a loan saying he did not even have money to pay the employees’ salaries at the sock factory his brother operated.”

With Lee receiving a prison sentence, it is expected to affect former chairman Kim’s trial as well. During the sentencing hearing, the prosecution argued, “Kim’s testimony is difficult to believe due to contradictions within the testimony itself and inconsistencies with other evidence, and even if Kim’s testimony is believed, according to relevant precedents, the 30 million KRW can be considered political funds,” pointing out the connection with Kim.

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