‘Daejangdong Bribery’ Lee Jae-myung’s Closest Aide Kim Yong Sentenced to 5 Years in First Trial... Court Imprisonment

Court Recognizes Credibility of 'Yoo Dong-gyu's Testimony'... Yoo Dong-gyu and Jeong Min-yong Acquitted
Judges: "Testimony Given to Escape Dire Situation Cannot Be Entirely Rejected"

Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was prosecuted for receiving illegal election funds and bribes from private developers involved in the Daejang-dong project, was sentenced to prison and detained in court in the first trial. This ruling is the court's first judgment related to the Daejang-dong development corruption case, and since the court recognized the credibility of the testimony of Yoo Dong-gyu, former planning director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation who was deeply involved in the Daejang-dong development project, it is expected to have a significant impact on Lee's related trial.

Former Deputy Director Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute, who was indicted on charges of receiving illegal election funds and bribes from a private developer involved in the Daejang-dong project, is seen attending the first trial sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 30th, embracing acquaintances. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu) on the 30th sentenced former deputy director Kim to five years in prison and detained him in court on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The court also ordered a fine of 70 million won and confiscation of 670 million won. Yoo, the former director, and lawyer Jung Min-yong, who were also prosecuted, were acquitted, while lawyer Nam Wook was sentenced to eight months in prison.

Former deputy director Kim is accused of conspiring with Yoo and others around the time of the party's presidential primary from April to August last year to receive 847 million won in four installments from Mr. Nam as presidential campaign funds. He is also accused of receiving a total of 190 million won in four installments from Yoo between February 2013 and April 2014 while serving as a standing member of the Urban Construction Committee of the Seongnam City Council, in exchange for facilitating the establishment of the corporation and the Daejang-dong development project.

The court partially recognized the credibility of Yoo's testimony. The court stated, "While Yoo, during the prosecution investigation, might have had motives to give false testimony aligned with the investigation agency's intentions in hopes of leniency and to escape additional detention, these motives and his desperate situation may have influenced his change of stance and testimony. However, the credibility of the testimony should not be uniformly rejected based on his desperate situation or the defendant's claims about his character. Instead, it should be specifically and individually evaluated by examining the rationality, objective reasonableness, consistency, and whether key parts align with other evidence in each testimony."

At the sentencing hearing, the prosecution criticized, "Kim's crime of demanding election funds from a private developer with whom he had a long-standing collusion and receiving hundreds of millions of won in cash to use in the party primary was shocking even to prosecutors. It seems he had no sense of guilt, thinking that as long as he won, he could cover up the entire process by any means."

The prosecution requested the court to sentence Kim to 12 years in prison, impose a fine of 380 million won, and order confiscation of 790 million won.

Additionally, the prosecution asked for a sentence of one year and six months in prison and confiscation of 140 million won for Yoo, who is both a major accomplice and a whistleblower, expressing hope that Yoo would be recognized not as a "traitor" but as someone who showed courage. For Jung, the prosecution requested one year in prison and confiscation of 7 million won. For Mr. Nam, who provided the funds, the prosecution requested one year in prison and confiscation of 100 million won.

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