Jang Si-ho, niece of Choi Seo-won [Photo by Asia Economy DB]
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Jang Si-ho (41), the niece of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), who is on trial for the 'state affairs manipulation' case, and former Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jong (59) were acquitted of some coercion charges and received reduced sentences in the retrial following the Supreme Court's previous ruling.
The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Seong Su-je, Judges Yang Jin-su and Bae Jeong-hyun) sentenced Jang to 1 year and 5 months in prison and former Vice Minister Kim to 2 years in prison on the 24th in the retrial.
Jang, who had been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in the previous appellate trial before the retrial, had her sentence reduced by 1 month, and former Vice Minister Kim, who had been sentenced to 3 years, had his sentence reduced by 1 year.
The court stated regarding Jang, "She effectively operated the Korea Winter Sports Gifted Center (Gifted Center) and managed its funds, embezzling money, making a prison sentence inevitable," but also explained the reason for the reduced sentence, saying, "She admitted her wrongdoing and showed remorse, and it is difficult to judge that her involvement in the crime was severe."
Regarding former Vice Minister Kim, the court said, "He participated in Choi Seo-won's pursuit of personal gain by exerting inappropriate influence through his friendship with the president," but also noted, "He cooperated sincerely with the investigation and contributed significantly to uncovering the substantive truth."
Although the court sentenced both to imprisonment, it did not order their immediate detention in court, considering that they had already served longer periods in custody than the sentences handed down.
Jang and former Vice Minister Kim were indicted on charges of coercion and abuse of official authority for conspiring with Choi to pressure Samsung Group and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) to provide sponsorship funds to the Gifted Center.
Following the Supreme Court's previous ruling that "demanding economic support for a specific sports organization from company representatives does not constitute threats under the crime of coercion," the retrial court acquitted both of the related coercion charges.
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