Supreme Court Confirms 45 Million Won Fine for Construction Company CEO in 'Split Donation' Case

Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The CEO of a mid-sized construction company in Daejeon, who was prosecuted for illegally donating company slush funds to the support committees of members of the National Assembly, has had a fine confirmed by the Supreme Court.

On the 15th, the Supreme Court Division 1 (Presiding Justice No Taeak) announced that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing construction company CEO Jeong Mo (48), who was indicted for violating the Political Funds Act and embezzlement in the course of business, to a fine of 45 million won.

Previously, Jeong was prosecuted on charges of conspiring with the company's CFO Kim Mo (49) to create slush funds by fabricating payroll payments to 10 to 15 employees over about two months starting in November 2018, and donating a total of 30 million won to the support committee of former Future United Party lawmaker Lee Eun-kwon under the employees' names, with 2 million won each.

They were also jointly indicted on charges of donating a total of 20 million won to the support committee of Heo Taejeong, the Democratic Party candidate for mayor of Daejeon in the June 13 local elections that year, using the same method.

The first trial sentenced Jeong and Kim to fines of 10 million won and 3 million won respectively. However, it acquitted them of embezzlement charges, judging that the slush fund donations were made not for personal gain but to promote the company's interests.

On the other hand, the second trial ruled that "donating slush funds as political funds cannot be regarded as part of socially acceptable business activities," and found them guilty of embezzlement as well. Jeong was sentenced to a fine of 15 million won for violating the Political Funds Act and 30 million won for embezzlement in the course of business. Kim was fined 3 million won for each charge, totaling 6 million won.

The Supreme Court also agreed with this judgment. The court dismissed the appeals of Jeong and Kim, stating, "The lower court did not err in its legal interpretation regarding the intention to unlawfully gain profits in the embezzlement charge."

Meanwhile, Ryu Mo (46), a former aide to Lee who was prosecuted for requesting split donations, had his sentence of one year in prison with a two-year probation confirmed in the second trial. The second trial court stated, "He requested split donations first and even lied about how much other companies had contributed."

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