Court Sentences Legal Broker to 2 Years in Prison for Receiving 700 Million Won for Prosecutorial Favors

Received Money from Fraudulent Loan Suspects and Shared with Accomplices
Prosecution Investigator Who Leaked Investigation Information Indicted Separately

A legal broker who received several hundred million won under the pretext of requesting a prosecutorial investigation has been sentenced to prison in the first trial.

According to the legal community on May 15, Kim Yongshin, the presiding judge of the 8th Criminal Division at the Gwangju District Court, sentenced A (aged 54), who was indicted for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, to two years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 250 million won.

Gwangju District Court. Photo by Song Bohyun

The court stated, "This is a serious crime that has severely undermined public trust in the criminal justice process, and the social harm is significant, so a strict punishment is necessary," explaining the reason for the sentence.

A was brought to trial on charges of receiving 700 million won from those involved in a 24.1 billion won fraudulent loan case under investigation by the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office from September 2023 to May of the following year, in exchange for requesting favorable investigation outcomes, and sharing the money with attorney B (aged 60) and others.

Legal broker C (aged 55), who was indicted together, was found not guilty as the criminal facts were not sufficiently proven. B was sentenced to three years in prison and forfeiture of 210 million won in the first trial, and the appeal is currently ongoing.

Meanwhile, a former bank president of a savings bank in Gwangju, who was involved in the fraudulent loan case, and a prosecution investigator accused of leaking investigation information to broker A, are being tried separately after being indicted on related charges.