Supreme Court Confirms Suspended Sentence for Former Busan Deputy Mayor Yu Jae-su in Bribery Case

1st Trial: 1 Year 6 Months Imprisonment with 3 Years Probation → 2nd Trial: Reduced to 1 Year Imprisonment with 2 Years Probation

Former Busan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Yoo Jae-su. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Yoo Jae-soo, former Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Busan City, who was prosecuted for accepting bribes from related companies while serving at the Financial Services Commission, has had his suspended prison sentence finalized.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sun-soo) on the 31st upheld the original sentence of one year imprisonment with a two-year suspension, a fine of 50 million KRW, and a confiscation of approximately 21.08 million KRW against former Deputy Mayor Yoo, who was prosecuted on charges of bribery, breach of trust after bribery, and violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

The court stated, "The lower court did not err in its legal interpretation regarding the establishment of bribery charges, specification of the indictment facts, and credibility of testimonies."

Former Deputy Mayor Yoo was prosecuted in December 2019 on charges including bribery, breach of trust after bribery, and violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for receiving goods worth about 40 million KRW, including apartment payments and book costs, from four financial industry workers between August 2010 and November 2018 while serving as the Policy Director at the Financial Services Commission.

The first trial sentenced Yoo to one year and six months imprisonment with a three-year suspension and a fine of 90 million KRW. A confiscation order of 42.21 million KRW was also issued. At that time, the court recognized both the job relevance and quid pro quo in Yoo’s bribery charges but acquitted him of the breach of trust after bribery charge.

In the appeal trial, he was again sentenced to a suspended prison term, but some charges such as receiving cash under the pretext of book costs were acquitted, resulting in a slightly reduced sentence compared to the first trial: one year imprisonment with a two-year suspension, a fine of 50 million KRW, and confiscation of approximately 21.08 million KRW.

Meanwhile, former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo, and former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyung-chul are currently undergoing first trial proceedings after being prosecuted on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of exercise of rights for covering up Yoo’s misconduct allegations.

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