Broker between prosecutors and police who requested to suppress investigation sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison

A prosecutor-police broker who received a large sum of money under the pretext of requesting to cover up investigations for fraud suspects and requested frontline police officers to reduce or dismiss investigations was sentenced to prison.

On the 15th, Judge Kim Yong-shin of the Criminal Division 8 at Gwangju District Court sentenced Seong Mo (63), a prosecutor-police broker indicted for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, to 3 years and 6 months in prison and confiscated criminal proceeds amounting to 1.713 billion KRW.

Additionally, co-defendant Jeon Mo (64) was sentenced to 2 years in prison and had 141.5 million KRW confiscated.

Seong and Jeon were indicted on charges of receiving goods and money worth approximately 1.854 billion KRW from Tak Mo (45, currently on trial in detention), a virtual asset investment fraudster involved in a multi-billion KRW scam, between August 2020 and November 2021.

They reportedly received money under the pretext of brokerage fees by telling the arrested Tak that they would "request high-ranking officials in investigative agencies to prevent his arrest" and "handle the case as non-prosecution to conclude it with no charges."

Seong, who had maintained close ties with high-ranking police officers and prosecution investigators through golf and dining entertainment for over 20 years, attempted to reduce the scale of the case by receiving money and being briefed on the investigation status.

Judge Kim Yong-shin stated, "The defendants' crimes are serious offenses that greatly undermine public trust in the criminal justice process," and added, "Considering the circumstances and methods of the crime, Seong's offense is very grave, making a prison sentence inevitable."

This trial only dealt with Seong's charge of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, and three other trials related to additional indictments, including requests for police promotion favors, will proceed separately.

So far, the prosecution has indicted 18 people, including nine active police officers, among them a police commissioner, two prosecution investigators, and four former police officers, in connection with the investigation into Seong's alleged cover-up of investigations and interference in police personnel affairs.

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