Former National Assembly Member Ha Youngje Detained in First Trial for Receiving Hundreds of Millions in Political Funds

Former National Assembly member Ha Youngje, who was indicted on charges of receiving political funds amounting to hundreds of millions of won, was sentenced to prison and taken into custody in the courtroom at the first trial.

The Jinju Branch of the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam, Criminal Division 2, sentenced Ha to 1 year and 6 months in prison and ordered his immediate detention in court on the 29th. The court also ordered the forfeiture of 163.5 million won and the confiscation of 2 million won in cash discovered during the investigation.

Song Dogeun, former mayor of Sacheon, Lee Junghoon, former member of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council, and a former aide to Ha, referred to as Mr. A, who were tried for giving money to Ha, were each fined 10 million won.

Ha Youngje, a member of the People Power Party, is heading to the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam for a warrant hearing.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

According to the prosecution and the court, Ha was indicted on charges of receiving a total of 167.5 million won from local government heads and provincial council members in the province from March 2020 to June last year, under the pretext of National Assembly election expenses and other purposes.

He was found to have received 70 million won in return for helping a preliminary candidate of the People Power Party for the Gyeongnam Provincial Council nomination, and 30 million won from former Mayor Song in 15 installments of 2 million won each, under the pretext of operating expenses for his local office and salary for the office manager.

He also received 40 million won from former Provincial Council member Lee under the pretext of National Assembly election expenses, and 27.5 million won from his former aide Mr. A by having a portion of the salary returned, thus receiving illegal political funds totaling hundreds of millions of won.

At the sentencing hearing held on June 27, the prosecution requested a five-year prison sentence for Ha, along with the forfeiture of 165.5 million won and confiscation of 2 million won found during the search and seizure.

The prosecution also requested a fine of 10 million won each for former Mayor Song, former Provincial Council member Lee, and Ha's former aide Mr. A.

The court stated, "Ha repeatedly received money, undermining the legislative intent of the Political Funds Act, which aims to foster the development of sound democratic politics," and added, "Receiving money in exchange for exerting influence in the party's candidate nomination process undermines the fairness of nominations, the transparency of party operations, and can shake the very foundation of representative democracy."

The court continued, "Given that the amount received through improper means is not small, a prison sentence is inevitable. However, in determining the sentence, the court considered Ha's service in public office and contributions to the nation and society, his remorse for his wrongdoing, his advanced age, and the fact that his actions did not actually affect the nomination results."

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