Former Cheong Wa Dae Chief Ahn Jong-beom Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison
Supreme Court Upholds Original Verdict
Closing Steps in State Manipulation Trial
Park Geun-hye's Retrial Scheduled for Next Month on the 10th
Lee Jae-yong's Trial Delayed Due to Recusal
Significant Time Expected Until Final Verdict
Choi Soon-sil, the 'secret power' of the Park Geun-hye administration who received a heavy sentence of 20 years in prison in the first trial for the state corruption scandal, is seen on the morning of June 15 last year getting off the transport vehicle and heading to the courtroom at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to attend the continuation of the appeal trial. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyung-min and Cho Sung-pil] Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), the main culprit in the 'state affairs manipulation' scandal during the Park Geun-hye administration, has been finally sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Ahn Cheol-sang) on the morning of the 11th upheld the previous ruling sentencing Choi to 18 years in prison, a fine of 20 billion KRW, and a confiscation of 6,336,760,000 KRW on charges including abuse of power. Former Blue House Policy Coordination Secretary Ahn Jong-beom, who was tried alongside Choi, was also sentenced to 4 years in prison, a fine of 60 million KRW, and a confiscation of 19.9 million KRW.
The court stated regarding the appeals filed by Choi and former Secretary Ahn, who opposed the original ruling after the case was remanded, that "the matters have already acquired finality and cannot be disputed further, thus they do not constitute valid grounds for appeal."
Accordingly, the trials of Choi and former Secretary Ahn, key figures in the state affairs manipulation scandal, have been finalized. On the 1300th day since her initial indictment, Choi received the Supreme Court's final verdict. She was indicted on November 20, 2016, on charges including abuse of power for conspiring with former President Park Geun-hye and former Secretary Ahn to coerce member companies of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) to donate 77.4 billion KRW to the Mir and K-Sports Foundations. She was also accused of receiving hundreds of millions of KRW in bribes from Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, including support for his daughter Jung Yoo-ra’s equestrian training, foundation donations, and funding for the Korea Winter Sports Talent Center, in collusion with former President Park.
The first trial sentenced Choi to 20 years in prison, a fine of 18 billion KRW, and confiscation of about 7.2 billion KRW. The second trial maintained the 20-year prison term but increased the fine to 20 billion KRW, while reducing the confiscation to about 7 billion KRW. However, last year, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Seoul High Court, ruling that some of the charges against Choi should be acquitted, specifically stating that the demand for support to the Talent Center from Vice Chairman Lee and Samsung could not be considered coercion. Following the Supreme Court’s remand, the retrial reduced Choi’s sentence to 18 years in prison, maintained the fine at 20 billion KRW, and lowered the confiscation to about 6.3 billion KRW.
Former President Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison in the first trial and 25 years in the second trial, but her case was also remanded by the Supreme Court and is currently undergoing a retrial at the second trial level. The retrial verdict is scheduled for the 10th of next month. Meanwhile, the trial of Vice Chairman Lee, another major suspect in the state affairs manipulation scandal, is delayed due to a request for recusal of the presiding judges.
Even if Vice Chairman Lee’s trial proceeds, predicting the verdict date is difficult. The witness examination and other trial procedures have not been completed, and even if the recusal request is resolved, there is a high possibility of appeal. Therefore, a considerable amount of time will inevitably be required before the Supreme Court’s final ruling. Vice Chairman Lee was sentenced to 5 years in prison in the first trial and 2 years and 6 months with a 4-year suspended sentence in the second trial, but the Supreme Court later remanded the case.
From Vice Chairman Lee’s perspective, considering the prosecution of the Samsung Biologics accounting fraud case, he may face two trials simultaneously. The prosecution suspects that the Samsung Biologics accounting fraud case was the 'final puzzle' to complete Lee’s succession process and is investigating accordingly.
Meanwhile, regarding the Supreme Court ruling on Choi and former Secretary Ahn, Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo stated, "It is meaningful that through long-term investigations and trials by the special prosecutor and prosecution, the substantive truth of the state affairs manipulation allegations by civilians such as Choi Seo-won has been revealed and appropriate punishment has been confirmed."
He added, "The special prosecutor respects the Supreme Court ruling and will do its best to maintain the prosecution against bribery providers such as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, whose retrial is currently ongoing in accordance with the Supreme Court’s final ruling."
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