An SPC executive and a prosecution investigator accused of exchanging bribes in return for insider information on the prosecution's investigation of SPC Group were sentenced to prison in the first trial.
On the 19th, the Criminal Division 21 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Heo Gyeong-mu) sentenced Kim, a level 6 prosecution investigator charged with leaking official secrets, bribery after the fact, and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, to three years in prison and a fine of 15 million won, ordering the confiscation of approximately 4.43 million won. Baek, former Executive Director of SPC, who was tried for bribery, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison. However, both were partially acquitted of charges related to violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.
The court stated regarding Kim, “Over a long period, he frequently communicated with executives of the companies under investigation and leaked extensive investigation secrets. The leaked official secrets included internal opinions, trends, future plans, and the atmosphere of the investigation team that only insiders of the prosecution could know,” adding, “The defendant’s guilt is serious, as he even had the internal prosecution report photographed directly by former Executive Director Baek.”
It also criticized, “Although the defendant spoke jokingly, it is questionable whether it is appropriate to tell an executive of the company under investigation that he is considering a position at SPC.”
Regarding former Executive Director Baek, the court explained, “Although the amount of the bribe itself was not large, he aimed to secure his position within the group by obtaining information difficult for others to acquire and reporting it to higher-ups,” and added, “He showed a tendency to bribe public officials for personal purposes, including extracting information through court staff besides Kim, which calls for severe punishment.”
The prosecution requested five years in prison for Kim and three years for former Executive Director Baek at the sentencing hearing on the 21st of last month.
Kim was indicted on charges of leaking investigation secrets such as the request for search and seizure warrants, the scope and execution plans of seizures, investigation progress, and internal review reports to SPC about 60 times from September 2020 to June last year, receiving goods and entertainment worth approximately 6.2 million won. At that time, Kim was assigned to the department responsible for investigating SPC Group Chairman Heo Young-in and others for violations of the Fair Trade Act and breach of trust.
Meanwhile, Chairman Heo was indicted in December 2022 on charges of breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes but was acquitted in the first trial, and the second trial is currently underway.
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