Prosecution Seeks Prison Sentence for Former KT Executive in 'Split Donations' Case

19th and 20th Generation 99 Ruling and Opposition Party Lawmakers Received Over 400 Million Won in 'Illegal Donations'
Former Executive "KT Was My Everything... Committed Crimes Due to Excessive Loyalty"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The prosecution has requested a prison sentence for a former KT executive who was indicted on charges of creating slush funds through so-called 'gift certificate laundering' and making split donations to members of the National Assembly.

At the hearing held on the 23rd under the jurisdiction of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Jun-cheol), the prosecution requested a sentence of 1 year and 2 months imprisonment for Maeng Mo, the former head of the public affairs department, on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, and 10 months imprisonment on charges of embezzlement in the course of duty.

The prosecution also requested the court to sentence two other employees, who were indicted along with Maeng, to 1 year imprisonment for violating the Political Funds Act and 6 months imprisonment for embezzlement in the course of duty. In accordance with the joint penalty provision, a fine of 10 million won was requested for KT, which was also indicted.

Maeng and others are accused of illegally donating 437.9 million won out of 1.15 billion won of slush funds raised between May 2014 and October 2017 to 99 members of the 19th and 20th National Assembly from both ruling and opposition parties in 360 instances. It was investigated that they used the names of executives, employees, their families, and acquaintances to exceed the annual donation limit of 5 million won per person to a member of the National Assembly's support committee under the Political Funds Act.

According to the Political Funds Act, the annual donation limit for an individual to a member of the National Assembly's support committee is 5 million won. Furthermore, corporations or organizations are prohibited from donating political funds, and providing political funds using money related to corporations or organizations is also forbidden.

In his final statement, Maeng said, "I considered KT my everything and committed the crime out of excessive loyalty," adding, "I have been living day by day unable to do anything due to four years of investigation and depression."

KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, who was summarily indicted on the same charges and fined a total of 15 million won, filed a formal trial request with the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 last month. As a result, the summary order issued to CEO Koo has lost its effect, and he will be tried in a formal trial.

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