Four Executives Including Reconstruction Association Head Sentenced for Accepting Bribes as Payment for Selecting Service Contractors

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-gi] The head and executives of a reconstruction association who accepted bribes in exchange for selecting a service company were sentenced to prison by the court.

The Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 11 (Chief Judge Ma Seong-yeong) on the 19th sentenced Yoo Mo (72), the head of a reconstruction association in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, who was indicted on bribery charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to 3 years in prison and a fine of 45 million won. Three executives of the association, including Kim Mo, were sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and fined 40 million won.

For five executives including Bae Mo, who were charged with bribery under the Criminal Act, the court sentenced them to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a fine of 20 million won, and suspended the sentence for 3 years.

Yoo and others were brought to trial on charges of receiving tens of millions of won in exchange for signing contracts with a specific company during the process of selecting a relocation management and crime prevention company in March 2015. At that time, the association executives set up a 'dummy' company to proceed with the public bidding for the service company, allowing the companies that paid bribes to win contracts worth a total of 850 million won in project costs.

The court stated, "The defendants accepted bribes, which undermined fairness and transparency in the project process, and they cannot be exempt from responsibility for destroying the trust of the association members."