Supreme Court: Head of Market Maintenance Association Also Deemed Public Official for Bribery Charges

Supreme Court Upholds Lower Court's Ruling... Suspended Prison Sentence Confirmed
First Case Recognizing Market Maintenance Project Association Executives as Public Officials for Bribery Charges

The Supreme Court has ruled that, under the Traditional Market Act, the head of an association overseeing a market maintenance project should be regarded as a public official and punished accordingly if they accept bribes. This is the first case in which the Supreme Court has determined that executives of a market maintenance project association can be considered public officials for the purpose of applying bribery charges.

According to the legal community on May 21, the Supreme Court's Third Division (presiding justice: Oh Seokjun) on April 24 upheld the lower court's ruling that sentenced Kim, who was indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery), to three years in prison with a five-year suspended sentence, a fine of 60 million won, and an order to forfeit 18.94 million won.

Kim, who served as the head of a market maintenance project association in Busan, was indicted on charges of receiving tens of millions of won in bribes on five occasions, including receiving 4.9 million won in November 2019 for attorney fees related to a lawsuit over the validity of his election as association head, and promising to provide favors in the selection of a construction company.

The key issue in the trial was whether the crime of bribery, as defined in the Criminal Act and applicable to public officials or arbitrators, could also be applied to Kim. While the Urban Maintenance Act explicitly stipulates bribery offenses for association executives, the Traditional Market Act does not contain such explicit provisions. On this basis, Kim's side argued that bribery charges could not be applied in the absence of a clear legal provision.

However, both the first and second trial courts found Kim guilty and handed down a suspended prison sentence. The Supreme Court also rejected Kim's appeal, ruling that there was no error in the lower court's judgment. The Supreme Court stated, "The provision in the Urban Maintenance Act that deems association executives as public officials defines the legal status of executives implementing maintenance projects, including redevelopment projects, and can be considered a relevant regulation for redevelopment projects," and added, "It cannot be considered contrary to the nature of the law to apply the public official provision of the Urban Maintenance Act to executives of a market maintenance project association."