'Rhyme Momtong' Kim Bong-hyun Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison... "Damage Scale 125.8 Billion Won, Severe Punishment Inevitable" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] The first trial court sentenced Kim Bonghyun, former chairman of Star Mobility (49), known as the 'Lime Body,' to 30 years in prison.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 13 (Chief Judge Lee Sangju) on the 9th sentenced former Chairman Kim, who was indicted on charges including embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 30 years in prison and ordered the payment of a fine of 76,935,400,000 KRW. The court stated, "Considering the overall circumstances, severe punishment for former Chairman Kim is inevitable," and added, "The sentence exceeds the recommended range of the sentencing guidelines."

The court found that former Chairman Kim played a leading role in committing embezzlement and fraud. The court pointed out, "The total amount of damages from embezzlement of funds from multiple companies reaches approximately 99.9 billion KRW, and in the case of Star Mobility, due to this incident, rehabilitation procedures are underway and stock trading has been suspended, causing enormous damage to investors."

The court further explained, "Hyanggun Sangjohoe and Suwon Passenger faced a situation where operating funds were depleted, making it difficult to cover routine expenses, and when adding the fraud damages committed against Boram Sangjo Development and Tivoli C&C, the total damage amounts to about 125.8 billion KRW." The violation of bail conditions by damaging electronic devices and fleeing to evade criminal responsibility was also taken into account in sentencing.

On this day, the court recognized the embezzlement charges as guilty for 19.2 billion KRW from Star Mobility funds, 20.6 billion KRW from Suwon Passenger, 37.7 billion KRW from Hyanggun Sangjohoe, and 1.9 billion KRW from Standard Asset Management. In addition, the court accepted the prosecution's claims and ruled guilty on charges of fraud related to Boram Sangjo Development, bribery to Financial Supervisory Service employees, and aiding the escape of Lee Jongpil, former vice president of Lime.

The court acquitted the charge of supporting 30 million KRW for the establishment of an election office related to Lee Sangho, former regional chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea in Busan Saha-eul (violation of the Political Funds Act). The court also judged that the prosecution's evidence was insufficient regarding the charges of obstruction of business and false accusation related to Boram Sangjo Development.