Prosecution Indicts Lawmaker Ha Young-je for Illegal Receipt of 167.5 Million Won Without Detention

Ha Young-je, a member of the People Power Party representing Sacheon, Namhae, and Hadong in Gyeongnam, has been indicted on charges of receiving illegal political funds amounting to around 160 million KRW.

The Criminal Division 4 of Changwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Jae-sang) announced on the 23rd that Ha was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Hayoungje, a member of the People Power Party, is heading to the courtroom at Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam for a warrant hearing.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong, Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters]

Ha is accused of receiving a total of 167.5 million KRW from local government heads and provincial council members in the Gyeongnam area from March 2020 to June last year, under the pretexts of National Assembly election expenses and regional office operating costs.

According to the prosecution, Ha, who was a candidate at the time, received 40 million KRW in total in two installments of 20 million KRW each from A, a then provincial council member who served as the head of the Hadong County election campaign headquarters, in March and April 2020 as election expenses for the National Assembly election he was contesting.

Additionally, from June 2020 to August 2021, Ha received 30 million KRW in total, in 15 installments of 2 million KRW each, from B, the then mayor of Sacheon, under the pretext of operating expenses for the Sacheon regional office.

From March to September 2021, Ha received a total of 20 million KRW in eight installments of 2.5 million KRW each from C, a Grade 4 aide in his National Assembly office, as aide salary, and also received 7.5 million KRW in three installments from C in March, April, and June of last year.

In January last year, Ha also received 70 million KRW from the sister of D, who ran as a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party's Gyeongnam provincial council election, in exchange for helping D secure the provincial council candidate nomination.

Earlier, on March 20, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Ha, and although the National Assembly approved the motion for arrest, the court dismissed the warrant on the 3rd of last month, allowing Ha to avoid detention.

The judge presiding over Ha’s warrant hearing stated, "The nature of the suspect’s crime is very serious," but added, "However, considering that the suspect initially denied the charges but confessed to most of the crimes during the court hearing, and that the prosecution appears to have collected and secured substantial evidence necessary to prove the charges, there is insufficient reason to believe there is a risk of flight or evidence tampering," thus dismissing the prosecution’s request for detention.

The prosecution has continued its investigation, including raiding two offices related to the case, and on this day indicted Ha along with former provincial council member A, former Sacheon mayor B, and aide C on charges of violating the Political Funds Act or the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

However, D’s sister, who actively cooperated with the investigation, was not prosecuted in accordance with Article 53 of the Political Funds Act (Protection of Whistleblowers on Political Fund Crimes) and related provisions.

A representative of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office stated, "This case involves a serious crime of receiving large sums of illegal political funds from multiple sources while holding the status of a National Assembly member or candidate," and added, "We will thoroughly maintain the prosecution to ensure that appropriate punishment is imposed."

They further stated, "Going forward, the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office will strictly respond to corruption crimes that shake the foundation of democracy and increase political distrust, as in this case."

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