‘Legislative Aide Embezzling Lawmaker's Policy Development Funds’ Fined, Prosecutors Appeal

by Lim Chunhan

Published 02 Feb.2024 16:22(KST)

The prosecution has appealed after a former aide of the Democratic Party of Korea was sentenced to a fine for embezzling National Assembly members' policy development funds.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 2nd, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office announced that it appealed to ensure that A (61), a former aide to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoo Dong-su, who was indicted on charges of fraud, receives a punishment commensurate with the crime. On the 31st of last month, Judge Kim Jeong-gi of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 7 sentenced A to a fine of 10 million won.

A is accused of embezzling 8.18 million won by inflating the number of policy booklets published from May 2016 to January 2019 and then returning part of the money. Around December 19, 2016, he had an intern secretary prepare a payment request form claiming the production of 2,000 policy booklets, which was submitted to a National Assembly staff member to claim 9.8 million won. In reality, only 4 copies of the policy booklet were produced.

Previously, the prosecution sought a one-year prison sentence, considering that A embezzled National Assembly members' policy development funds paid with taxpayers' money and shifted all responsibility to the administrative intern after the crime was uncovered.