'CIO's First Self-Initiated Case': Police Officer's 700 Million Won Bribery Sentence Reduced from 10 Years to Suspension

Not Guilty on 600 Million Won Bribery Charge in Appeal

“Insufficient Evidence for Borrowed-Name Account”

CIO’s Indictment and Prosecution of Civilians

Ruled “Invalid Due to Lack of Authority”

A former senior police official who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the first trial on charges of receiving bribes totaling 700 million won saw his sentence drastically reduced to a suspended term on appeal. This was because a crucial bribery charge involving about 600 million won was overturned with a not guilty verdict.

Seoul Court Building housing Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Lee Seunghan) on August 25 sentenced former Senior Superintendent Kim, who was indicted on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, to one year in prison with the sentence suspended for two years. The court also ordered the forfeiture of 110 million won.

In the first trial, Kim was given a 10-year prison sentence, a fine of 1.6 billion won, and forfeiture of approximately 750 million won, and was taken into custody in court.

The appeals court acquitted Kim of the charge of receiving over 600 million won in bribes through a borrowed-name account from Mr. A, the CEO of an apparel company. Although there were indications that Kim had managed the account in part, the court found there was insufficient evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he fully managed and used it as his own account.

The charge of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act by receiving credit cards and electronic goods worth a total of 110 million won from Mr. A was found guilty. However, the court ruled that there was no evidence to prove that the items were given as compensation for brokering affairs related to a public officer’s duties, and therefore acquitted Kim of the bribery charge in this area.

The court stated, "The defendant, a senior police officer, received and used a credit card from an acquaintance, and received electronic products such as a laptop," adding, "This violates the purpose of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, which aims to ensure integrity and trust in public office, and is therefore a serious offense."

For Mr. A and others who were indicted together for providing a borrowed-name account, the court dismissed the charges. The court ruled that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) does not have the authority to directly indict and prosecute ordinary citizens who are not high-ranking public officials or their family members, and thus the prosecution against them was invalid.

The court also found that during the seizure of Mr. A's mobile phone, the CIO did not guarantee the right of participation to the person whose property was seized, and as a result, some evidence was ruled to have been collected illegally.

This case marks the first time the CIO initiated an investigation on its own authority. The CIO began investigating Kim for allegedly receiving bribes from Lee Sang-Young, Chairman of Daewoo Development, in exchange for halting a police investigation, and subsequently uncovered additional suspicions of bribery involving Mr. A.

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