Heoseok, Mayor of Suncheon, Sentenced to Probation, Immediately Appeals: "Sorry to Citizens"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Former Suncheon Mayor Heo Seok of Jeollanam-do, who was sentenced to imprisonment on the 15th by the court, immediately announced his intention to appeal and apologized, saying, "I am sorry for causing concern to the citizens."

After the sentencing trial held at the Gwangju District Court Suncheon Branch on the same day, Mayor Heo stated in a press release, "There are people who bring up events from over 10 years ago, which I barely remember, to slander me in every way, but I have endured silently to minimize the impact on city administration rather than making excuses."

He added, "I devoted my youth to the democratization of this land, supported juniors for over 20 years, and never personally used a single penny of the subsidies from the Regional Newspaper Development Committee. Despite this, I regret the court’s decision to give a suspended sentence without fully examining the facts of the case," emphasizing, "I will immediately appeal to uncover the truth."

He continued, "To meet the expectations of public officials and citizens who trust me, I will reveal the truth throughout the subsequent trial process," and said, "I will work harder to ensure that the trial does not cause any disruption to city administration."

Meanwhile, on the 15th, Judge Jang Yoon-mi of the Criminal Division 2 at the Gwangju District Court Suncheon Branch sentenced Mayor Heo to 10 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence on charges of fraud for embezzling newspaper development funds during his time as a regional newspaper representative.

The court also sentenced newspaper executive A, who was indicted on the same charges, to 10 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence, and employee B to 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence.

Judge Jang stated, "The claim that the donations were voluntary is unreasonable because the refund amounts of salaries were uniform and the donation methods should have differed. Therefore, it is difficult to view them as genuine sponsorships," and added, "The donation details were not recorded, so the flow of funds could not be identified."

She continued, "They obstructed the participation of other newspapers in the regional newspaper development fund support, the crime period lasted for seven years, and the damage of 160 million won has not been recovered, indicating a serious nature of the crime," and said, "They are avoiding their responsibilities."

Mayor Heo’s lawyers said immediately after the verdict, "Although the court acknowledged that Mayor Heo did not embezzle any personal funds, it delivered an incomprehensible ruling accepting the prosecution’s claims," and added, "We expect the truth to be revealed in the appeal trial."

As Mayor Heo, who received a suspended sentence, immediately expressed his intention to appeal, there will be no significant disruption to his mayoral duties under the presumption of innocence until the sentence is finalized by the Supreme Court.

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