Prosecutors Demand 3 Million Won Fine for Former Minister Candidate Kim Seung-hee on Political Funds Law Violation Charges

"Political funds must be spent only for political activities"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The prosecution has requested a fine of 3 million won for former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seung-hee, who was dismissed as the Minister of Health and Welfare nominee due to allegations of violating the Political Funds Act during her time as a member of the National Assembly.

On the 8th, Judge Yoon Ji-sook of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 5 held the second trial for Kim, the former nominee, and accounting officer A, who were indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.

At the trial, the prosecution requested a fine of 3 million won for Kim and 2 million won for A, respectively.

The prosecution stated the reason for the request, saying, "The fundamental principle is that political funds should only be spent for political activities. The defendant, who is well aware of this, committed a clear crime by misusing political funds for personal purposes."

They added, "Considering that the defendant confessed to all the offenses and has already returned a significant portion of the misused political funds, we believe a fine is appropriate."

Kim is accused of using political funds for the security deposit of a rental car for official use and insurance fees for her spouse's vehicle during her term as a 20th National Assembly member.

According to the prosecution, in February 2017, when Kim acquired a Genesis G80 vehicle used for legislative activities, she paid only the balance after deducting the 18.57 million won security deposit paid in advance with political funds.

Additionally, she used a Grandeur vehicle owned by her spouse for legislative activities and paid one year’s worth of car insurance with political funds but did not return about 160,000 won of the remaining insurance premium after renting an official rental car.

In March 2020, she also processed about 3.52 million won in political funds by obtaining a false estimate for repairing the Grandeur vehicle as if it were for the G80 vehicle. She is also accused of spending a total of 360,000 won from political funds for pension insurance premiums borne by a staff member of her office.

Previously, Kim stated that the issue was due to a practical error in the accounting process.

However, the National Election Commission referred Kim to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in June for violating the Political Funds Act, and when the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office began investigating, Kim voluntarily resigned on July 4, 40 days after being nominated as minister.

The prosecution filed a summary indictment against the two for violating the Political Funds Act, requesting fines of 3 million won and 2 million won respectively, but the court referred the case to a formal trial.

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