Supreme Court Confirms Guilt of Former Mokpo Maritime Police Chief for Bribery and Former Mokpo Customs Chief for Violating Kim Young-ran Act

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The bribery conviction of the former Mokpo Maritime Police Station chief, who requested the hiring of his son from the head of a port company related to his work, has been finalized.

Additionally, the former Mokpo Customs Office chief was also found guilty of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for receiving golf entertainment worth more than 3 million KRW over one year from the same business operator.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) upheld the lower court's sentence of 10 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation for Ahn (60), the former Mokpo Maritime Police Station chief, who was charged with bribery.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of Kim (58), the former Mokpo Customs Office chief, who was charged with violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, thereby confirming the lower court's imposition of a 4 million KRW fine.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court also dismissed the appeal of Jeong (62), CEO of the former Mokpo New Port Operation, who was charged with bribery for accommodating Ahn's employment request and violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for providing golf entertainment exceeding 3 million KRW to Kim within the same fiscal year, confirming the lower court's sentence of 1 year imprisonment with a 2-year probation.

The court stated, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience, exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterprets the law regarding the calculation of the amount of money under Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act or the establishment of the bribery offense, which would affect the judgment."

While serving as the Mokpo Maritime Police Station chief, Ahn was worried about his son, who graduated from university in February 2017 but was unemployed and not actively seeking a job.

On May 11, 2017, during dinner at a restaurant in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, with Jeong, whom he was acquainted with, Ahn mentioned that "my son graduated from university but is unemployed and just staying at home, which worries me."

Jeong, thinking that maintaining a good relationship with Ahn would benefit his business, suggested that Ahn's son apply to the corporation where Jeong was CEO. Subsequently, Ahn's son was hired by the company led by Jeong.

In court, Ahn claimed that he only happened to learn about the job opening and passed the information to his son, denying any related conversation with Jeong. Jeong also denied ever receiving a job request for Ahn's son from Ahn.

However, the lower court found that the employment request existed, noting that all procedures including application, interview, and hiring decision were swiftly completed within just three weeks after the dinner where the son's employment was discussed.

Notably, the company led by Jeong typically hired contract workers for over three months before considering regular employment based on performance, but Ahn's son was hired directly as a regular employee despite lacking special experience or certifications. The employment contract included a condition for extension requiring "TOEIC/JPT scores above 600 and HSK level 5 or higher," but Ahn's son neither met these conditions nor was aware of them, which served as evidence.

Meanwhile, Kim, who received golf entertainment from Jeong nine times in 2017, was acquitted in the first trial.

The reason was that when the total golf expenses were divided among the four participants each time and summed, the amount did not exceed 3 million KRW.

However, the prosecution appealed, arguing that the amount should include the share of those invited by Kim among the golf companions, and the second trial court agreed with this point.

Recalculating in this manner revealed that Kim received golf entertainment worth approximately 3,284,750 KRW over nine occasions in one year, leading to a guilty verdict for violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The second trial court imposed a 4 million KRW fine on Kim.

Article 8 (Prohibition of Receipt of Money, etc.) Paragraph 1 of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act stipulates, "Public officials, regardless of job relevance or the name of donation, sponsorship, or gift, shall not receive, request, or promise money or valuables exceeding 1 million KRW per occasion or 3 million KRW per fiscal year from the same person."

Kim and Jeong argued that the 30,000 KRW allowance for food and beverage expenses permitted under the Act should be deducted from the calculation, but this was not accepted.

As a result of overturning the initial acquittal on the violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, Jeong's sentence was increased to 1 year imprisonment with a 2-year probation.

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