'1 Billion Bribery' Lee Jeong-geun, Former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General, Sentenced to Prison in First Trial

by Kim Daehyun

Published 12 Apr.2023 11:39(KST)

Lee Jeong-geun, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was prosecuted on charges of receiving a bribe of 1 billion won from a businessman, was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

Lee Jeong-geun, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 12th, the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) sentenced Lee, who was detained and indicted on charges of receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violating the Political Funds Act, to 4 years and 6 months in prison. This sentence is heavier than the 3-year prison term requested by the prosecution. The court also ordered the confiscation of 986,808,700 won from Lee.

The court stated, "The defendant used his high-ranking party positions, including Chairman of the Seocho-gap District Committee of the ruling and majority party, the Democratic Party of Korea, and Deputy Secretary-General, to receive money and valuables amounting to 1 billion won. Some of it was actively demanded by the defendant," adding, "Moreover, during the investigation, he attempted to destroy some evidence, and during the trial, he denied the crime by making claims contrary to objective evidence." It also added, "He blamed the bribe giver and did not show sincere reflection on his wrongful actions."

Lee was prosecuted on charges of receiving 940 million won multiple times from businessman Park Mo under various pretexts of requests from December 2019 to January this year (charges include receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violating the Political Funds Act).

There is also a charge of receiving illegal political funds amounting to 330 million won several times from Park between February and April 2020, under the pretext of election expenses for the 21st National Assembly election. Since some of the funds overlapped, the total amount received was calculated as 1 billion won.

At the last sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested the court to sentence Lee to 3 years in prison, stating, "The defendant actively demanded money and valuables but denies the crime while shifting responsibility to the giver." They also requested the confiscation of various luxury goods received from the businessman and an order to confiscate approximately 980 million won. However, they considered factors such as Lee partially admitting to the crime, returning about 370 million won of the received money, and being a first-time offender when determining the sentence.

In his final statement, Lee said, "Perhaps Park's greed grew, and he turned into a loan shark, demanding an unreasonable amount of money from me while threatening and spreading malicious rumors. When Park was sued by me, he immediately made false reports to the prosecution, which is the background of this case." He added, "Looking back at my photo, which I believed easily without verifying the identity, I feel nothing but shame."