Prosecutors Drop Appeal in Noh Woong-rae Bribery Case, Finalizing Acquittal

[Financial News] Prosecutors have decided not to appeal the acquittal of former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Noh Woong-rae, who had been indicted on charges of receiving 60 million won in illegal political funds and bribes and was found not guilty in both the first and second trials. As a result, Noh's acquittal was finalized three years and five months after he was indicted in March 2023.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said on the 28th that it would not appeal the appellate ruling in Noh's bribery case. Prosecutors explained, "We appealed the first-trial acquittal and argued for the admissibility of the evidence, but we also considered recent court trends that more strictly assess the procedures and requirements for voluntarily submitting evidence from previously seized materials in related cases, as well as the likelihood of the appeal being upheld." They appear to have concluded that there was little practical benefit in pursuing an appeal, since the recorded files at the center of the case were ruled inadmissible as evidence in both trials.
Noh was indicted on charges including bribery and violations of the Political Funds Act for allegedly receiving 60 million won from businessman Mr. Park in five installments between February and December 2020 in exchange for arranging permits for a logistics center and providing favors for power plant supply contracts and a solar power project. Prosecutors sought a four-year prison term, a 200 million won fine, and a 50 million won forfeiture in both the first and second trials, saying part of the money was handed over as election expenses for the general election and the Democratic Party of Korea's party convention.
The investigation stemmed from a separate case involving Lee Jeong-geun, former deputy secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Korea, on charges of soliciting bribes. While examining electronic data from a mobile phone voluntarily submitted by Mr. Park's spouse, Ms. Cho, prosecutors discovered audio recordings of conversations with Noh, which led to the indictment. Han Dong-hoon, then justice minister and now an independent lawmaker, also said of the file ahead of the vote on Noh's arrest motion that it "contains even the sound of rustling money envelopes, recorded exactly as it was."
However, the first-trial court ruled last November that prosecutors had failed to follow due process, saying they discovered clues to a separate crime but did not obtain an additional search and seizure warrant. The court therefore rejected the admissibility of the recordings and acquitted Noh.
The Criminal Appeals Division 5-2 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Kim Yong-jung, also dismissed the prosecution's appeal on the 21st. The appeals court did accept as evidence Mr. Park's diary and phone calendar entries written around the time the money was allegedly delivered, saying they existed separately from the electronic data taken from Ms. Cho's phone. The records included expressions apparently referring to Noh, such as "Noh 20 million won" and "Lawmaker Noh 10 million won, office at 3 p.m.," along with specific amounts. While the court viewed them as circumstances that could raise suspicion of bribery, it concluded that they were still insufficient to prove the five alleged payments beyond a reasonable doubt.
Meanwhile, President Lee Jae-myung wrote on X shortly after the appellate ruling, "How could anyone other than the person involved possibly imagine how unfair it must have been for senior Noh, who was indicted by political prosecutors and even stripped of his political life by the party?"

[email protected] Lee Hwan-ju Reporter