Former Lawmaker Woo Je-chang Sentenced to Four Years in ‘Soundproof Wall Kickback’ Case; Received Payment Through 68 Coffee Machines

[Financial News] Former lawmaker Woo Je-chang has been sentenced to four years in prison for receiving benefits worth more than 900 million won in exchange for arranging favors related to a highway soundproof-wall construction project. The payments were made by having a construction company purchase coffee machines it had no use for or inflate the value of a subcontract and hand over the difference.
According to legal sources on the 2nd, the Supreme Court of Korea’s Third Division, with Justice Oh Seok-jun presiding as the case’s chief justice, dismissed Woo’s appeal and upheld the lower court’s sentence of four years in prison and confiscation of 956.61 million won. Woo had been indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes through influence peddling and for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act.
The Supreme Court of Korea ruled, "The lower court did not err by violating the rules of logic and experience or exceeding the limits of the principle of free evaluation of evidence. Nor did it misunderstand the legal principles concerning the establishment of the offenses of influence peddling and violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, or the admissibility and credibility of testimony given in court by witnesses who had undergone preliminary interviews with prosecutors."
The case originated with the construction of an apartment complex by a local housing association in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, near the Yeongdong Expressway. Under the Korea Expressway Corporation’s standards for managing entrusted construction projects, the Korea Expressway Corporation had to directly commission soundproofing facility design and construction if the cost was 20 billion won or more. To proceed as a so-called non-agency-managed construction project commissioned by the association, the cost had to be below 20 billion won. However, the Korea Expressway Corporation’s Gangwon Regional Headquarters proposed a new plan, saying the existing design exceeded noise standards. As a result, the total construction cost jumped from 19.3 billion won to 80.6 billion won. The association could not accept the change.
The head of the company that won the soundproof-wall contract visited former lawmaker Woo Je-chang in July 2021 and asked him to resolve the issue. Woo allegedly said, "Leave it to me and I’ll take care of it," and added, "I’m close to a former president of the Korea Expressway Corporation, so I’ll get introduced to the working-level officials and the head of the Gangwon Regional Headquarters and handle it. If it becomes difficult, I’ll look into it through the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee." He then demanded money.
The payments were made through coffee machines. Woo was operating a coffee-machine distribution business, and although the construction company had little use for or ability to utilize the machines, it purchased large quantities of inventory. From August 2021 to August 2023, it bought 68 machines worth approximately 132.6 million won. Including 100 million won received through an account under the guise of a loan and 130 million won in cash, Woo was found to have received a total of 362.6 million won in exchange for arranging the duties of a lawmaker serving on the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.
Another problem arose when the association changed the construction contract to 29.3 billion won. Because the amount exceeded 20 billion won, the project could no longer proceed as a non-agency-managed construction project. The company head asked, "Please help change the Korea Expressway Corporation’s internal rules so that the project can proceed as a non-agency-managed construction project even if the cost exceeds 20 billion won." Woo replied, "I will ask the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to revise the regulations concerning non-agency-managed construction projects." The Korea Expressway Corporation’s standards for managing entrusted construction projects were subsequently changed to allow such projects regardless of construction cost, and the association received approval to begin construction in July 2023.
This payment was made through an inflated contract arrangement. The subcontract amount of 19.8 billion won was inflated by 2.875 billion won to 22.675 billion won. From August 2023 through March of the following year, the subcontractor then handed Woo 594.01 million won in cash, sponsorship payments, and purported loans.
The first trial court sentenced him to three years and six months in prison and ordered the confiscation of 888.36 million won. The appellate court increased the sentence after recognizing part of the coffee-machine payments that the first court had deemed unrelated to the solicitation as consideration for the favors.
[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter