'Gongsu-cheo 1st Prosecution' Former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun Denies Charges in First Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun (52), who was the first to be directly indicted since the launch of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Hugo), appeared at the first trial for bribery charges and denied the allegations.

At 10:30 a.m. on the 22nd, Judge Kim Sang-il of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1 presided over the first trial of former Chief Prosecutor Kim, who was indicted on bribery charges.

Kim’s defense attorney stated, "The defendant did not personally receive the money. It cannot be considered that he accepted entertainment or valuables as stated in the indictment, and there was no intent to commit bribery." They also argued that Kim became an easy target as part of the Moon Jae-in administration's 'prosecutorial reform.'

Kim Hyung-jun claimed, "In 2016, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office judged there was no evidence of wrongdoing. As the prosecutors from Hugo sitting in front of me know, the no-charge decision was based on evidence confirming the truth, yet it feels very unrealistic to me that this part was prosecuted."

Park, a lawyer (52) who was also indicted on charges of giving bribes to former Chief Prosecutor Kim, said, "Hugo is really amateurish," and added, "It is very unfair to be indicted solely based on past credit card records."

Previously, Kim was prosecuted on charges of accepting 10 million won in bribes and receiving entertainment worth approximately 930,000 won twice in connection with a criminal case involving his former prosecutorial colleague, lawyer Park, while working at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in October 2015. Kim reportedly asked Park to handle the defense of his sponsor and high school classmate Kim (52), who was involved in embezzlement and other cases, and used Park as a proxy in the relationship between Kim and Kim Hyung-jun’s mistress.

Although Kim denied the connection between his duties and the rewards during the Hugo investigation, Hugo indicted him based on Supreme Court precedents regarding the relationship between duties and rewards.

Kim claimed that the three financial transactions totaling 45 million won between him and Park also constituted bribery, but Hugo decided not to prosecute after considering the relationship between Kim and Park, the motive for the money transactions, repayment, and timing of repayment.

Kim was also investigated in October 2016 by the prosecution on these charges but was cleared due to lack of circumstantial evidence. Separately, the prosecution arrested and indicted Kim for receiving money and entertainment from Kim, and in 2018, the Supreme Court confirmed a suspended prison sentence for him.

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