"Bribery Charges Cannot Be Applied to Contract Employees"... Jangheung County Staff Acquitted on Appeal

Contract employees of Jangheung County, who were indicted for repeatedly manipulating the registration of construction machinery for commercial use in exchange for bribes, despite new registrations being restricted, were acquitted in the appeals trial on the grounds that they are not considered public officials.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Jin-hwan) overturned the original verdict and acquitted two defendants, including Mr. A, in the appeals trial held on the 13th. They had been indicted on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and dereliction of duty.

Mr. A and another individual, who were contract employees at Jangheung County Office in South Jeolla Province responsible for construction machinery management, were indicted for manipulating the registration of construction machinery-whose new registration was restricted-for commercial use on 171 and 134 occasions, respectively, between August 2016 and July 2018. Mr. A was also charged with receiving 40.45 million won in return.

In the first trial, they admitted to the charges and were sentenced to two years and six months in prison and a fine of 40.45 million won, and one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence, respectively.

However, the appeals court ruled that bribery and dereliction of duty charges, which apply only to public officials, could not be applied to them, and found that the original verdict was based on factual errors and a misunderstanding of the law.

Contract employees are technically private workers who sign employment contracts with public institutions, so their work regulations are governed by the Labor Standards Act, just like ordinary company employees. Typically, when private individuals commit such crimes, they are punished for brokerage bribery.

Unlike other local governments, Jangheung County assigned contract employees to handle construction machinery registration and management work.

As the bribery charges against Mr. A and others were overturned, the construction machinery business owners who had been charged with offering bribes were also acquitted.

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