Former National Assembly member Kim Hee-sun, who was prosecuted for fraudulently receiving government subsidies by inflating the production costs of an independence movement commemorative film, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.
On the 6th, Judge Lee Chang-won of the Criminal Division 11 at the Seoul Northern District Court sentenced Kim, who was charged with violating the Act on the Management of Subsidies, to 10 months in prison with a 2-year suspension.
Three others, including Hong, the CEO of the video production company, who were also charged with the same offense, were fined between 1.5 million and 3.5 million KRW, and the incorporated association Hangil Women’s Independence Movement Commemoration Society was fined 6 million KRW.
The court explained the sentencing by stating, "The crime of violating the Act on the Management of Subsidies through fraudulent receipt by the defendants is serious because it disregards the purpose of the subsidy project and results in depriving those who rightfully receive subsidies of their opportunities," but also considered "that most of the deposits received by the defendants were used not for personal gain but as social activity expenses within the scope of non-profit purposes."
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