"I'll Make the Investigation Go Away"—Active Police Officer Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Accepting 200 Million Won in Bribes

(Photo = NewsisDB) Photo = Newsis [Financial News] An active police officer who was prosecuted for accepting hundreds of millions of won in bribes in exchange for promising to halt an ongoing investigation has received a prison sentence in the first trial. 5 million won. The court stated, "Police officers are obligated to comply with relevant laws more than anyone else, yet the defendant accepted 200 million won in bribes. " The court further noted, "In an attempt to conceal his crimes, the defendant committed several offenses, including leaking official secrets, which demonstrates poor character.
His actions have severely damaged the integrity of police duties and public trust in civil servants, making the offense highly blameworthy. " However, the court also considered that part of the bribe was returned and that the defendant was experiencing financial hardship due to his son's medical expenses. A certain Mr.
Kim, a loan broker who was tried alongside Lieutenant Jeong for giving bribes, was sentenced to two years in prison. The court explained, "Although he admitted to all charges and actively cooperated with the bribery investigation, he deceived multiple victims and embezzled 300 million won, for which he has not been forgiven. " Inspector Kim, who was accused of participating in Lieutenant Jeong's bribery, was acquitted.
The court stated, "There is no evidence that Kim was aware of Jeong's acceptance of bribes," and added, "Based on statements made to the investigative authorities, it appears that Kim inadvertently assisted Jeong, but this does not constitute joint criminal conduct. 2 million won from Mr. Kim, a suspect, over 22 occasions between June 2020 and February of the following year in exchange for quashing cases.
According to the prosecution, Lieutenant Jeong demanded bribes from Mr. Kim, who was under investigation for multiple fraud cases, promising to consolidate the cases and ensure non-indictment. After transferring Mr.
Kim's address to his own jurisdiction, Lieutenant Jeong took over or reassigned the cases involving Mr. Kim and forwarded them with recommendations for non-indictment or non-referral. During this process, Lieutenant Jeong leaked records from three ongoing investigations to Mr.
Kim and falsified an interrogation report to make it appear that a suspect, Mr. A, had been questioned at the police station when he had not. Additional charges include manipulating case records to conceal them for years, leaving case files in a cabinet instead of submitting them to the prosecution, altering a complaint against Mr.
Kim with a forged document, and excluding documents confirming account transactions from the records.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo, Choi Eun-sol Reporter