'Promised a district council nomination and took 36 million won' ... Former lawmaker Lee Sang-heon's suspended sentence finalized

[Financial News] Former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Lee Sang-heon, who received 36 million won from a party member after promising to secure a proportional-representation nomination for a district council seat, has had his prison sentence suspended finalized.
The Second Division of the Supreme Court of Korea, with Justice Kwon Young-jun presiding, rejected Lee’s appeal on the 12th. Lee had been indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The lower court ruling sentencing him to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, a fine of 3 million won and forfeiture of 41,091,780 won was thereby finalized. The rulings against Oh, who had chaired Lee’s supporters’ association, of a 3 million won fine and forfeiture of 10 million won, and against Lee’s son, who had served as chief accountant at the campaign office, of a 2 million won fine were also finalized.
Lee was indicted on charges of taking money from party member Kim after promising, “If you help with the election, I’ll make sure you get the party’s nomination for a proportional-representation district council seat in the local elections being held on the same day,” as he ran in a June 2018 by-election for a National Assembly seat in Buk-gu, Ulsan. He was also charged with accepting 5 million won in wedding gifts at his son’s wedding.
The money Kim handed over was provided under several different pretexts. In April that year, it included 2 million won for travel expenses to attend an interview in the party primary, 13 million won as a primary deposit and 7 million won for campaign expenses. Kim had earlier handed over 20 million won as a primary deposit. When Lee paid 13 million won of that amount in party dues, Kim gave him the 7 million won he got back, telling him to use it again for campaign expenses. That same month, Kim sent 10 million won to Oh, the head of Lee’s supporters’ association, ostensibly for campaign office operating costs, and lent a campaign aide 10 million won interest-free under the pretext of a primary deposit. Prosecutors also classified the equivalent of the interest on the loan as illegal political funds.
The promised nomination never materialized. In May 2018, Kim failed to pass the DPK’s screening for a proportional-representation district council nomination. When Kim protested, Lee said he would keep his promise next time and again promised to secure him a district council nomination in the 2022 local elections. Later that same month, Lee received an additional 14 million won ostensibly to buy a campaign vehicle for the by-election, and 5 million won as a wedding gift for his son.
The key issues were whether Kim’s account of handing over the money was credible and how to characterize the 5 million won wedding gift. The first trial found the charges proven, citing Kim’s specific and consistent testimony and supporting withdrawal records and other evidence. However, it did not treat the 5 million won as political funds and found Lee guilty only of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The Act provides for penalties when a public official receives money or valuables worth more than 1 million won on a single occasion or more than 3 million won in a fiscal year, even if the receipt is unrelated to the official’s duties.
The appellate court upheld the first trial’s conclusion, and the Supreme Court likewise accepted the facts and legal reasoning established by the lower courts.


[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter