'Fraudulent Receipt of Long-term Care Benefits' Yoon Seok-yeol's Mother-in-law to Face First Appeal Trial Tomorrow

Choi, the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The appeal trial of Choi Mo (74), the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who was indicted for fraudulently receiving over 2.2 billion KRW in nursing care benefits from the National Health Insurance Service and was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial, will begin on the 6th.

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 5 (Presiding Judges Yoon Kang-yeol, Park Jae-young, Kim Sang-cheol) will hold the first appeal hearing on the 6th for Choi, who was indicted on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violation of the Medical Service Act, and was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial.

Since this is a formal trial date, not a preparatory hearing, Choi must appear in person.

As the court pointed out during the earlier preparatory hearing that the first trial’s judgment was not clear, the prosecution and Choi’s side are expected to engage in heated arguments over whether Choi was involved in the operation of the nursing hospital.

Choi was non-detained indicted on charges of fraudulently receiving 2.29 billion KRW in nursing care benefits from the National Health Insurance Service while establishing and operating a nursing hospital in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province, from 2013 to 2015 together with three business partners.

Initially, the investigation began in 2015 at the Paju Police Station, and only the three business partners were booked. They were prosecuted, and in 2017, one received a four-year prison sentence, while the other two were sentenced to two years and six months in prison with a four-year probation, respectively.

Choi, who was a co-chairperson, was not booked because she received a "letter of exemption from responsibility" stating that she would not be held accountable for hospital operations when she stepped down from the chairperson position in 2014.

However, a reinvestigation began last April after Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, Hwang Hee-seok, Supreme Council member of the Open Democratic Party, and others filed complaints against former Prosecutor General Yoon, his wife Kim Geon-hee, and mother-in-law Choi on various charges.

In October last year, then Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae issued an investigative directive excluding former Prosecutor General Yoon’s authority over investigations related to several cases involving Yoon himself, his wife, mother-in-law, and close family members.

In the first trial, Choi’s defense attorney claimed, "This case was political from the start and remained political until the end," and argued that "the judicial system was manipulated to insult Prosecutor General Yoon."

Choi’s side did not deny the fact that they received 2.29 billion KRW in nursing care benefits but completely denied the prosecution’s allegation that they conspired in the fraud.

However, on July 2, the Uijeongbu District Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Jeong Seong-gyun), which handled Choi’s first trial, sentenced her to three years in prison and ordered her detention in court.

At that time, the court stated, "The defendant’s crime worsened the finances of the National Health Insurance Service, causing harm to the entire public, and the responsibility is heavy. Nevertheless, the defendant continues to shift responsibility even up to this trial without admitting wrongdoing, and the amount defrauded exceeds 2 billion KRW, causing significant damage," explaining the sentencing rationale.

Choi’s side filed a bail request on the 13th of last month, arguing there is no risk of flight or evidence tampering.

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