'First Prosecution' Public Corruption Investigation Office Embarrassment... Former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyeong-jun Acquitted in First Trial

Former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (Gong-su-cheo) suffered a major embarrassment as the first case it directly prosecuted since its launch ended in a 'not guilty' verdict in the first trial. Criticism has arisen that Gong-su-cheo forcibly investigated and prosecuted a case that the prosecution had previously judged as having no charges.

On the morning of the 8th, Judge Kim Sang-il of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1 sentenced former Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-jun, who was indicted on bribery charges, and lawyer Park Mo, who was indicted for giving bribes, to not guilty.

The court stated, "Since it appears that former Chief Prosecutor Kim returned 10 million won, it is difficult to see that he had the intent to unlawfully gain," and "Based solely on the evidence presented by Gong-su-cheo prosecutors, it is difficult to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the facts of the indictment constitute bribery rather than a loan." The court noted that the two, who had maintained a long-standing friendship, had multiple previous financial transactions, and that the financial transactions in this case were not significantly different from those previously deemed as having no charges by Gong-su-cheo.

The court also judged that the payment for drinks made by lawyer Park was unrelated to former Chief Prosecutor Kim's duties. It added, "Considering that former Chief Prosecutor Kim was dispatched as the head of the Financial Insolvency Responsibility Investigation Headquarters at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation at the time, it does not appear that he had direct and specific authority over the investigation of lawyer Park's Capital Markets Act violation case conducted by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office."

Previously, former Chief Prosecutor Kim was indicted for receiving 10 million won in bribes and hospitality worth about 930,000 won in 2016 after allegedly providing investigative convenience in 2015 for lawyer Park, a former prosecution colleague, in a Capital Markets Act violation case while serving as head of the Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office.

Regarding this charge, former Chief Prosecutor Kim was investigated in October 2016, but the prosecution dismissed the case citing lack of circumstantial evidence. He was only convicted and given a suspended sentence for charges related to receiving money from his sponsor, high school classmate Kim Mo.

However, the investigation resumed after Kim Mo submitted a complaint related to lawyer Park to the police in October 2019. Gong-su-cheo, which took over the case under its governing law, prosecuted former Chief Prosecutor Kim in March based on Supreme Court precedents regarding the relationship between duties and rewards. In the sentencing hearing last September, Gong-su-cheo requested a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 30 million won for former Chief Prosecutor Kim, along with an order to confiscate 10,935,000 won. A fine of 10 million won was also requested for lawyer Park.

Upon the not guilty verdict, former Chief Prosecutor Kim, who broke down in tears in the defendant's seat, told reporters after leaving the courtroom, "A lot of taxpayers' money is being spent, and many public officials are working in this newly established organization, but I wonder if this is truly for the people," adding, "It was tragic to see facts and truth distorted according to political logic to create some kind of issue."

As the case directly contradicts the prosecution's previous no-charge judgment and fails to prove guilt in a case that broke the prosecution's exclusive right to prosecute for the first time in 73 years since the enactment of the Prosecutors' Office Act in 1948, concerns are rising that Gong-su-cheo's existence may be at risk. Regarding the ruling, Gong-su-cheo stated, "There are parts of the court's judgment with which we legally disagree," and "We will appeal."

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