Former Lawmaker Im Jongseong Sentenced to 2 Years in First Trial on Multi-Million-Won Bribery Charges

Bribery Charges Under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes

Former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Im Jongseong, who was brought to trial on charges of receiving tens of millions of won in money and valuables from heads of construction companies in his constituency, has been sentenced to a prison term.

On the 10th, the 12th Criminal Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Junghyung) sentenced former lawmaker Im to two years in prison and ordered him to pay an additional 18.54 million won. He had been indicted on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, as well as violations of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Lim Jongsung, former lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap News Agency

Former lawmaker Im was indicted on charges of receiving money and valuables worth a total of 100.21 million won between November 2019 and May 2021, while serving as a sitting member of the National Assembly, from a construction company head, identified only by his surname Eom, whose firm was located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Im's constituency. The benefits allegedly included the payment of interior renovation and office fixtures for his campaign office and cosmetic surgery expenses on his behalf. He was also charged with receiving approximately 13 million won in money and valuables from another construction company executive in his constituency, identified only by his surname Oh, by being provided with and using a corporate credit card.

The court did not accept the part of the indictment that claimed Im received interior renovation and fixtures costs from Eom as bribes. It found it difficult to conclude that there was intent to have the construction costs paid on his behalf because Eom had not clearly informed Im’s side of the exact amount of the construction expenses, making it hard for him to recognize them.

However, the court did recognize as a bribe the 5 million won in surgery expenses that Im had paid on his behalf by Eom. It also ruled that his use of the corporate credit card provided by Oh constituted both bribery and a violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Im Jongseong has also recently come under investigation by the joint prosecution-police investigation team on suspicion of receiving money and valuables worth 30 million won from the Unification Church around the time of the 21st National Assembly elections in April 2020.