Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae Fined 500,000 Won for Private Use of Political Funds

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae was sentenced to a fine of 500,000 won for allegedly using political funds for personal purposes.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 41 (Presiding Judge Shim Tae-gyu) issued a summary order on the 10th to former Minister Chu, who was summarily indicted for violating the Political Funds Act, imposing a fine of 500,000 won.

A summary indictment is a procedure in which the prosecution requests a fine or penalty to be imposed based on written review instead of a formal trial. The 500,000 won fine is the amount requested by the prosecution.

Former Minister Chu was accused by a civic group for allegedly using about 190,000 won with a political fund check card at a gas station and restaurant in Nonsan, Chungnam, on the day her son graduated from the Army Training Center in January 2017. The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office Human Rights and Honor Protection Division (Chief Prosecutor Ahn Dong-wan), which took over the case, requested a summary order for a fine of 500,000 won against former Minister Chu in December last year.

However, the prosecution dismissed the allegations that former Minister Chu spent about 2.5 million won on meals with political donations at a restaurant in Itaewon operated by her daughter from November 2014 to August 2015, citing the statute of limitations and declared 'no prosecution.'

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