'Sohn Hye-won of Mokpo Speculation Allegations Maintains Innocence in Appeal Trial: "Not Confidential Material"'

Defendant's Witnesses: "Disclosure of Urban Regeneration Information at Public Hearings and in the Media"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Former lawmaker Son Hye-won, who is accused of purchasing real estate under a borrowed name after obtaining prior knowledge of the 'Mokpo City Urban Regeneration Project Plan,' claimed innocence in the appeal trial, arguing that the project plan at the time was not confidential.

Han Mo, a former director at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and a witness for Son's defense, testified on the 15th at the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Byun Sung-hwan) that "the contents of the Mokpo urban regeneration project were disclosed to everyone through public hearings with residents."

He stated, "The public hearings were announced several times in advance through daily newspapers and other media to encourage residents' participation, and anyone from the public could attend. The project details revealed at the hearings were also reported by the media, so many people were aware of them."

Previously, Son was indicted on charges of purchasing real estate worth approximately 1.4 billion KRW, including 26 land parcels and 21 buildings within the Mokpo regeneration project area, under the names of her nephew, acquaintances, and the Crosspoint Cultural Foundation chaired by her husband, by obtaining prior knowledge of Mokpo City's urban regeneration project plan in May 2017 until January 2019.

The prosecution alleges that Son, using her position as a member of the National Assembly, received documents containing development information from Mokpo City Hall and, on September 14 of the same year, obtained non-public materials such as the 'Draft Guidelines for the Urban Regeneration New Deal Project Contest' from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

However, Son's defense has argued that the Mokpo City urban regeneration project had already been widely reported in the media, so the materials in question were not 'confidential.'

Another witness, Mr. A, also testified that the project details were not confidential at the time. A former reporter for Mokpo MBC, he said, "Mokpo is a small area, so people who read the news could easily know which areas were being developed."

In response, the prosecution countered that it was difficult to identify the priority development areas based solely on information disclosed at public hearings and in the media, and that it was impossible to know that such a large-scale project was underway.

The first trial court that handled this case previously sentenced Son to 1 year and 6 months in prison last year. At that time, the court ruled, "Since Mokpo City refused to disclose the information in response to the information disclosure request, the urban regeneration strategic planning materials are considered confidential."

After the sentencing, Son appealed, stating, "It is difficult to accept the guilty verdict that only accepted the prosecution's one-sided claims."

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