Former Lawmaker Ha Hyeongje Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months for Receiving Illegal Political Funds Worth Over 100 Million Won

Received Funds Under Pretext of Nomination and Other Reasons
Supreme Court: "No Error in Lower Court Ruling"... Appeal Dismissed

The prison sentence for former lawmaker Ha Hyeongje, who was tried on charges of receiving illegal political funds, has been finalized.

On May 1, the Supreme Court's Second Division, presided over by Justice Oh Kyungmi, upheld the lower court's ruling that sentenced former lawmaker Ha to one year and six months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 163.5 million won for violating the Political Funds Act. The Supreme Court stated, "There is no error in the lower court's ruling as claimed in the appeal."

Former lawmaker Ha was indicted on charges of receiving 97.5 million won from former Sacheon Mayor Song Dogeun, a provincial assembly member, and his own aide between March 2020 and June 2022, under the pretext of covering National Assembly election expenses and local office operating costs. He was also accused of receiving 70 million won from the sister of a prospective provincial assembly candidate in exchange for promising to help the candidate secure a party nomination. Ha largely admitted to the charges.

Both the first and second trials found Ha guilty of all charges except for a 2 million won commission, sentencing him to one year and six months in prison and ordering the forfeiture of 163.5 million won. Ha appealed the verdict, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, stating there were no grounds for it. Song, the former mayor who gave money to Ha, was also found guilty of illegally providing 28 million won and was fined 10 million won in the appellate court in January.

The Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, which investigated the case, requested an arrest warrant for Ha in March 2023, when he was an incumbent lawmaker with the People Power Party. At the time, the National Assembly approved the motion to arrest Ha, but the court rejected the warrant, stating, "He has confessed to most of the charges, and the prosecution appears to have secured substantial evidence." Subsequently, Ha resigned from the People Power Party, saying he did not want to burden the party.