"Trying to Influence the Trial?"... Defendants Bow Their Heads at Judge's Reprimand

Real Name Publicly Reprimanded and 1 Year 6 Months Prison in Gambling Trial
Health Center Chief Who Abandoned Pedestrian Gets 4 Years in Prison

"Who was the person who called me and asked me to look favorably upon the defendant?"

On June 11, a stern voice echoed through courtroom 402 at the Gwangju District Court. Ahead of sentencing for A (45) and 12 others indicted on charges including operating an illegal gambling venue, Chief Judge Jang Chansu of the 3rd Criminal Division publicly rebuked A for attempting to influence the trial and demanded the name of the person involved.

Initially flustered, A denied knowing the person, saying, "I don't really know them," but eventually admitted, "It's someone my older acquaintance knows, whom I've met two or three times. My acquaintance said he would help me."

Judge Jang emphasized, "Trials must be fair. If I let this slide without saying anything, people will say, 'He let it go because someone intervened,'" and he recorded the details of the attempted influence in the trial records so they could be reviewed during the appeals process.

A was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison and ordered to forfeit approximately 499 million won. Of the co-defendants, two received prison sentences or suspended sentences, and the remaining ten were fined.

On the same day, Judge Jang also sentenced B (64), a former head of the Hwasun County Health Center in South Jeolla Province, to four years in prison for fatally hitting a pedestrian and leaving the scene without providing aid. Judge Jang reprimanded B, saying, "Can you buy a person's life with money? Would you have forgiven the perpetrator if it had happened to your family?" B fled the scene immediately after the accident and deposited 200 million won with the court before sentencing, but was not forgiven by the victim's family.