"Split Donations Allegation" Former Lawmaker Kim Heeguk... Supreme Court Confirms Acquittal

Supreme Court: “No Evidence of Split Donations”
Lack of Materials to Establish Job-Related Connection
Ruling Highlights Absence of Compensation
9.8 Million Won in Sponsorship Not Deemed Solicitation
Both Prosecution and Defendant’s Appeals Dismissed

Yonhap News Agency

The Supreme Court has delivered a final verdict of not guilty for former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Heeguk, who had faced allegations of job-related solicitation and split donations in the process of receiving a total of 9.8 million won in sponsorship funds from officials at the Daegu Dyeing Industrial Complex in 2015. This upholds the lower courts’ ruling that there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

According to the legal community on November 27, the Supreme Court’s First Division (Presiding Justice Ma Yongjoo) dismissed both the prosecution’s and the defendant’s appeals in Kim’s case, confirming the acquittal from the previous trial.

In 2015, while serving as a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Kim was indicted on charges of receiving a total of 9.8 million won in sponsorship funds after being asked by the chairman of the Daegu Dyeing Industrial Complex to support the selection of an aging industrial complex regeneration project overseen by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The sponsorship funds were collected as follows: 1 million won each from 48 employees of the complex, and 1 million won each from five directors, all under their individual names.

The prosecution argued that these funds constituted a reward for job-related solicitation and that the donations were split among multiple individuals to avoid exceeding the annual donation limit per person, thus constituting “split donations.” Kim and others involved were brought to trial. However, both the first and second instance courts acquitted Kim, stating that the evidence presented was insufficient to recognize solicitation or compensation. The courts found there was not enough material to conclude that Kim had actually exercised concrete influence or had a job-related connection in the process of receiving the sponsorship funds in relation to the project selection.

The Supreme Court also dismissed the appeals, affirming the lower courts’ not guilty verdict. As a result, Kim has been acquitted of charges of bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act.