"Abuse of Prosecutorial Discretion"
Son Kwak Byungchae Also Acquitted
The indictment of former People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sangdo, who was charged with disguising bribes received in connection with his parliamentary duties as performance bonuses in order to conceal them, was dismissed in the first-instance trial.
Kwak Sangdo, a former lawmaker, is smiling as he speaks after the first trial verdict on the 6th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News
On the 6th, the 23rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Seyong) dismissed the indictment against former Assemblyman Kwak, who had been charged with violating the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. The court acquitted his son, Kwak Byung-chae, who had been brought to trial on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violation of the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. Previously, Kwak Byung-chae had been indicted on charges of receiving 5 billion won (2.5 billion won after deductions for taxes and other expenses) from Kim Manbae, a private businessman involved in the Daejang-dong development project.
However, the court found Kim guilty of aiding and abetting the receipt of brokerage bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violating the Political Funds Act, for which he had been indicted along with them, and imposed a fine of 5 million won.
The court stated, "Instead of going through the appellate procedure in the defendants' prior case, the prosecutor arbitrarily exercised the right of prosecution with the intention of effectively obtaining a first-instance judgment twice through a separate indictment in order to overturn the result," adding, "Since the defendants effectively suffered a substantial disadvantage by having to undergo a first-instance judgment twice on essentially the same matter, this constitutes an abuse of the right of prosecution."
Regarding Kwak Byung-chae, the court noted, "In order to recognize the bribery charge, a conspiratorial relationship with former Assemblyman Kwak must be established," and went on to state, "It is difficult to find that former Assemblyman Kwak agreed to receive 5 billion won from Kim in return for favors or intermediation, and there is also no evidence sufficient to recognize that Kwak Byung-chae conspired in the act of receiving the bribe."
Former Assemblyman Kwak was indicted on charges of receiving 5 billion won in April 2021 from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, where Kim was the largest shareholder, in the form of severance pay and bonuses for his son, Kwak Byung-chae, who resigned from the company. However, he was acquitted in the first-instance trial in February 2023. At that time, the court only found him guilty of illegally receiving 50 million won in political funds from lawyer Nam Wook, a private businessman in the Daejang-dong development project, and sentenced him to a fine of 8 million won.
Subsequently, in October of the same year, the prosecution additionally indicted former Assemblyman Kwak and his son, as well as Kim, on charges including violation of the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment, alleging that they disguised bribes received in connection with parliamentary duties as performance bonuses in order to conceal them.
The prosecution also applied charges of aiding and abetting the receipt of brokerage bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violation of the Political Funds Act, after determining that former Assemblyman Kwak had colluded with Kim to receive additional money from lawyer Nam in April 2016. The core allegation is that former Assemblyman Kwak received 100 million won in return for his efforts to quash a request to amend the indictment in Nam's criminal case.
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