Supreme Court Finalizes Two-Year Prison Sentence for Kim Jinha, Yangyang County Chief, on Sexual Misconduct and Bribery Charges

Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal, Upholds Prison Sentence

Kim Jinha Loses County Chief Position Following Ruling

Kim Jinha, the head of Yangyang County, who was put on trial for various misconduct charges including accepting money and valuables from a female petitioner and engaging in inappropriate sexual relations, has had his two-year prison sentence finalized. As a result of this ruling, Kim immediately loses his position as county chief.

On May 8, the First Division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) announced that it had upheld the original verdict in Kim’s appeal trial, which sentenced him to two years in prison, a fine of 10 million won, and a forfeiture of 5 million won. Kim had been indicted on charges including violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery) and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Kim was indicted for accepting 20 million won in cash and a high-end massage chair worth about 1 million won from A, a pension business operator, at his county office and elsewhere in Yangyang County in 2023, in exchange for resolving civil petitions. During the trial, a key issue was whether Kim’s sexual relationship with A constituted a form of “sexual benefit” related to his official duties, which could be considered a bribe. The court found him guilty on this count.

However, Kim was acquitted of the charge of forcible molestation of the female petitioner due to insufficient evidence, consistent with the decision in the previous trial.

Meanwhile, A, who was indicted for blackmailing Kim by using a video of their sexual encounter, and B, a member of the Yangyang County Council, were also found guilty. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s sentences: A was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for bribery and blackmail, while B, who conspired with A to pressure Kim, received a 1-year prison sentence suspended for 3 years. As a result, B also loses their seat on the county council.

The court stated, "There was no error in the lower court’s application of the relevant law."

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