In the First Retrial of the 'Bribery' Case, Prosecution and Kim Hak-eui Clash Over 'Witness Contamination'

On the morning of the 2nd, former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui appeared at the first retrial hearing of the bribery case held at the Seoul High Court. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] In the first retrial of former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui on bribery charges, which was remanded to the High Court due to the possibility of contamination of witness testimony after a pre-interview with the prosecutor, the defense team and the prosecution engaged in a tense exchange over the credibility of witness Choi Mo.

On the morning of the 2nd, the Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Park Yeon-wook) held the first hearing of the retrial of former Vice Minister Kim, who was indicted on bribery charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Kim, who was released on bail following the Supreme Court's remand ruling, appeared in court without detention.

On this day, Kim’s defense attorney argued, "The Supreme Court's remand ruling is simple. It states that the credibility of Choi’s testimony has been contaminated," and added, "It is inappropriate to summon a contaminated witness again for trial." They also emphasized, "It would be good if the prosecution could prove with other objective evidence that Choi was not contaminated."

On the other hand, the prosecutor said, "The Supreme Court never judged that it was 'contaminated,' but rather instructed to examine whether it was contaminated," and added, "For the prosecution to have attempted inducement or pressure, there must be some incentive, but the witness was not even indicted due to the statute of limitations." Furthermore, the prosecutor stated, "Since it is rare for the witness’s testimonies in the first and second trials to match exactly, it would be better for the court to summon the witness directly and make a judgment."

The court requested the prosecution to submit the details of the pre-interviews conducted with Choi before the first trial and before the second trial prior to the remand. Based on the materials submitted by the prosecution and the defense’s opinion letter, the court intends to decide whether to summon Choi again as a witness. The next hearing of the retrial is scheduled for October 7 at 11:10 a.m.

Previously, former Vice Minister Kim was prosecuted on charges of receiving bribes worth approximately 130 million won and multiple instances of sexual favors from construction businessman Yoon Joong-chun between 2006 and 2008, as well as receiving bribes totaling about 49 million won, including cash and payment of phone bills under a false name, from construction businessman Choi, who acted as his "sponsor" from 2003 to 2011.

The first trial dismissed the sexual favor allegations against Kim due to the statute of limitations and acquitted him of the remaining charges.

The second trial found Kim guilty of receiving 43 million won in bribes from Choi, sentencing him to 2 years and 6 months in prison, a fine of 5 million won, and confiscation of 43 million won, and ordered his detention. This was because witness Choi initially denied the bribery but reversed his testimony after a pre-interview with the prosecutor.

However, in June, the Supreme Court accepted Kim’s claim that "Choi met with the prosecutor before appearing as a witness" and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court. At that time, the court pointed out, "It is difficult to exclude the possibility that the witness changed his previous testimony to one that fits the charges under the influence of inducement, pressure, suggestion, or hints from the investigative agency."