Kim Hak-ui Sentenced to 2 Years and 6 Months in Prison After Partial Conviction in 2nd Trial
Ruling Party: "Yoon Seok-yeol Should Apologize for Denying Prosecutorial Abuse," "Justice Is Served"
Former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, who was indicted on bribery charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, is heading to the Seoul High Court courtroom in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 28th to attend the appellate trial sentencing hearing. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, who was indicted on charges of receiving bribes worth hundreds of millions of won and sexual favors, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the appellate trial. On the 28th, the Democratic Party of Korea emphasized prosecutorial reform, saying, "The delayed verdict is regrettable."
Park Seong-hyun, the Democratic Party's full-time deputy spokesperson, issued a statement that day, saying, "The guilty verdict and court detention of former prosecutor Kim Hak-ui is natural but the verdict came too late, which is regrettable."
He said, "The so-called 'Kim Hak-ui Villa Sexual Favor Case' is a bribery case in which a high-ranking prosecutor received money and sexual favors, and it vividly revealed the secretly rumored relationship between prosecutors and sponsors. Although the case began to surface in the media in 2013, proper investigations were not conducted for a long time. Even though the testimony of the woman who was sexually assaulted was made public, the prosecution closed the case twice with no charges," he pointed out.
He continued, "This will be recorded as a representative case where justice was delayed because the prosecution failed to properly investigate and root out its own misconduct and illegality," emphasizing, "The public's demand for prosecutorial reform is to change this reality."
Shin Dong-geun, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, also wrote on his Facebook that day, "Delayed justice is not justice, but still, it makes me think that it is better than being completely ignored."
Kim Yong-min, a lawmaker from the same party, also said on Facebook, "Kim Hak-ui's court detention! Justice is being realized little by little, though late and slow," adding, "The prosecutorial sponsor culture and protecting their own members, as well as abuse of prosecutorial power, remain problems, but if such punishment cases accumulate, change can happen."
He added, "As the main committee member handling this case, I experienced how difficult prosecutorial reform is, especially when even past prosecutorial cases almost got shelved again," and said, "Still, it is rewarding to have taken a step forward like this."
Finally, he concluded his post by saying, "I am curious what Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who boldly said at the National Assembly audit that this case was not an abuse of prosecutorial power, will say about this verdict," and argued, "Is this verdict absurd too? This case is a representative example of prosecutorial abuse of power. Prosecutor General Yoon should apologize for his shameless remarks."
Earlier, former Deputy Minister Kim, who was acquitted in the first trial on charges including sexual favors and bribes worth about 300 million won, was detained in court after some charges were recognized as guilty in the appellate trial.
On the day, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jeong Jun-young, Judges Song Young-seung and Kang Sang-wook) overturned the first trial's acquittal of former Deputy Minister Kim, who was charged with bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months in prison, a fine of 5 million won, and a confiscation of 43 million won.
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