[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-chun, who was indicted in the so-called 'white list case' for selectively supporting conservative groups illegally during the Park Geun-hye administration, is set to receive the Supreme Court's final judgment.
According to the legal community on the 2nd, Kim's defense attorney submitted a notice of appeal yesterday to the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6 (Presiding Judges Oh Seok-jun, Lee Jung-hwan, Jeong Soo-jin).
With Kim's re-appeal, the white list case will undergo its fifth judgment through the appeal and retrial stages.
Kim and others were prosecuted on charges of pressuring the Federation of Korean Industries from 2014 to 2016 to provide a total of 6.9 billion won to 33 pro-government conservative groups.
Before the retrial, the appellate court sentenced Kim to 1 year and 6 months in prison, but the Supreme Court overturned the original ruling in February, recognizing Kim's guilt for abuse of power and obstruction of rights but ruling that the coercion charge could not be upheld, and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court.
The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6, which handled the retrial, reduced Kim's sentence to 1 year in prison during the sentencing hearing on the 26th of last month. The court also did not order Kim's detention in court because the time he had already spent in custody exceeded the sentence.
Former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Cho Yoon-sun, who was indicted on the same charges, was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a 2-year probation. This sentence is lighter than the previous appellate court's sentence of 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation before the retrial. Cho's defense has not yet submitted a notice of appeal.
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