Prosecutors Demand 8-Year Prison Sentence for Mayor Eun Su-mi Over 'Leak of Investigation Data' to Police

Eun Su-mi, Mayor of Seongnam. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Reporter] The prosecution has requested an 8-year prison sentence for a former police officer accused of receiving various favors in exchange for leaking investigation materials to Eun Su-mi, the mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

On the 27th, at the final trial hearing for former police officer A, held by the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Mi-kyung), the prosecution demanded 8 years imprisonment and a fine of 75 million won for A on charges of official secrets leakage and bribery followed by unfair acts.

According to the prosecution, police officer A, who was affiliated with the Seongnam Jungwon Police Station, is accused of handing over an investigation report to Mayor Eun’s side in October 2018, when she was under investigation for violating the Political Funds Act.

In return, he allegedly requested Park, a former policy advisor and close aide to Mayor Eun (currently detained and indicted), to have a specific company take charge of a tunnel streetlight replacement project worth approximately 450 million won that Seongnam City was promoting, successfully securing the contract, and received about 75 million won from the company.

It was also investigated that A requested a position as a level 6 team leader in Seongnam City for an acquaintance and received personnel arrangements accordingly.

The prosecution stated, "The defendant, while handling the investigation of a prominent politician, Mayor Eun, leaked investigation secrets and received favors such as securing contracts for specific projects in return. He betrayed his duties as a police officer and severely damaged public trust in investigative agencies by profiting from this case."

On the other hand, A’s defense attorney argued, "The report leaked by the defendant cannot be considered confidential, and the bribery charges are not true. Although there was a personnel request, it was not in exchange for leaking investigation materials."

In his final statement, A said, "I reflect on the parts I did wrong, but I ask the court to judge well on the matters I did not do."

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