"Severity of Social Harm" - Local Official Sentenced to Death in China for Accepting 500 Billion Won in Bribes Over 30 Years

The Largest Bribery Amount Ever Disclosed in Chinese Judicial History

A local Chinese official has been sentenced to death after being indicted on charges of accepting bribes worth approximately 500 billion won. This case is known to involve the largest amount ever in a Chinese bribery scandal.

On July 7 (local time), according to reports from China's state-run Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV), the Changzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province sentenced Yang Yulin, former Executive Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone, to death. Yang was found guilty of accepting bribes, embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriating public funds, abuse of power, and money laundering.

The court also ordered the lifelong deprivation of Yang's political rights and the confiscation of all his personal assets.

Yang Yulin, Former Executive Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone. CCTV capture

From 1993 to 2023, over the course of 30 years, Yang Yulin held various positions in Nanjing. He is accused of illegally receiving assets valued at 2.214 billion yuan (about 500 billion won) in exchange for helping with construction contract awards, business operations, land use rights transfers, and corporate financing. He was also reported to have colluded with accomplices to misappropriate fiscal funds, embezzle state-owned enterprise money, and unlawfully push forward land demolition and development projects, causing significant social harm.

The court acknowledged that Yang Yulin had contributed to investigations by reporting other crimes, but determined that the grave social harm caused by his offenses precluded any leniency in sentencing.

CCTV reported that Yang Yulin admitted to the charges and expressed remorse during a public trial held in March and April.

The amount embezzled by Yang Yulin is said to be the largest ever for a single bribery conviction in China's publicly disclosed judicial rulings. The previous record was held by Lai Xiaomin, former chairman of the state-owned distressed asset management company China Huarong Asset Management, whose bribe amount was 1.788 billion yuan (about 400 billion won). Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.