Mr. Bae, accused of 'corporate card misuse,' to face first trial on the 18th of next month

Key figure Bae Mo in the 'corporate card misuse suspicion' case involving Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first trial for Bae, who was indicted without detention in connection with allegations of 'misuse of corporate card' by Kim Hyekyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will be held next month.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Criminal Division 12 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Hwang Inseong) will hold the first trial for Bae, who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, at 11 a.m. on the 18th of next month.

Bae was prosecuted for violating the Public Official Election Act by having the meal expenses of 78,000 won for three people related to the party, excluding Kim, paid with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government corporate card during a meal with Kim and three party-related personnel on August 2 last year.

When allegations of corporate card misuse arose during the 20th presidential election, he issued a statement denying the facts, but was reported by a civic group for violating the Public Official Election Act (false information disclosure).

Bae is also accused of embezzlement by using the Gyeonggi corporate card to pay for Kim's personal meals from July 2018 to September last year or illegally obtaining prescriptions under other people's names and delivering them to Kim, but this part is still under investigation by the prosecution. It is known that the scale of Bae's corporate card misuse amounts to about 150 cases, totaling approximately 20 million won.

On the 30th of last month, before the pre-trial detention hearing, Bae generally admitted to the charges by depositing all amounts corresponding to embezzlement.

Earlier, the police concluded that there was an implicit conspiracy between Bae, the direct user of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government corporate card, and Kim, and sent Kim to the prosecution as a co-conspirator in this case.

Kim's side, whom the prosecution pointed to as Bae's 'upper line,' stated, "We never instructed the use of the corporate card." Bae also maintains the position that "No one ordered me to do this."

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