The prosecution has filed an appeal against the second trial verdict of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, who was indicted on charges of bribery and solicitation to the then chairman of the Seongnam City Council in connection with the Daejang-dong development project. Kim was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial but was acquitted in the appellate court.
According to the legal community on the 15th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office submitted a notice of appeal to the court on the 14th, citing factual errors and other reasons.
Earlier, the Criminal Division 2-3 of the Suwon High Court (Presiding Judges Park Kwang-seo, Kim Min-gi, Kim Jong-woo) overturned the original sentence of 2 years and 6 months imprisonment and acquitted Kim in the bribery charge case during the appellate trial, stating that "there were factual errors and legal misinterpretations in the parts recognized as guilty by the original trial."
At the same time, the appellate court overturned the original sentence of 4 years and 6 months imprisonment and acquitted Choi Yoon-gil, the former chairman of the Seongnam City Council, who was tried on charges of receiving bribes after improper conduct for passing the ordinance establishing the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation upon solicitation from Kim.
In the first trial, considering the testimonies of Nam Wook, Jung Young-hak, and others, it was judged that former Chairman Choi led the protests of Daejang-dong residents by soliciting the passage of the corporation ordinance, but the appellate court rejected the credibility of these testimonies. The appellate court stated, "Kim Man-bae's bribery requires the premise of Choi Yoon-gil's official misconduct," and "therefore, Kim's crime cannot be established."
The prosecution charged former Chairman Choi and Kim, believing that in 2012, Choi accepted Kim's request to pass the ordinance establishing the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and passed the ordinance in January 2013 against the voting principles while opposing council members had left the chamber.
The prosecution charged them, believing that former Chairman Choi accepted Kim's request around 2012 and passed the ordinance in January 2013 against the voting principles while opposing council members had left the chamber. Furthermore, as compensation, Choi was hired as vice chairman of Hwacheon Daeyu in February 2021, promised sequential payment of 4 billion KRW in performance bonuses, and received 80 million KRW by November 17 of the same year under the name of salary and other payments.
The prosecution had previously requested a sentence of 4 years imprisonment for Kim and 5 years imprisonment with a confiscation of about 80 million KRW for former Chairman Choi in the appellate trial.
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