Prosecutors have pointed out the charge of bribery of 75 billion won in the arrest warrant for Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management). A legal official said, “If the prosecution’s arrest warrant bribe is found guilty by the court, the amount of bribe an individual has given will be the largest since Dangun.”
According to the legal community on the 13th, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Kim and promised to give 25% (70 billion won) of the profits from the development of Daejang-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do in 2015 to Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and gave him preferential treatment in selecting the business. The charges were recorded in the arrest warrant. The amount Kim delivered was 500 million won delivered in January of this year out of the 70 billion won promised to Yoo’s acting deputy president, and 5 billion won paid to the son of Congressman Kwak Sang-do in the name of severance pay. However, up to the promised 70 billion won was included in the charges. Under the Criminal Code, bribery is punishable not only by offering but also by promises or demands.
Typically, bribes in personal corruption cases range from hundreds of millions to billions of won. Even in the slush fund case of ex-presidents who were the most powerful, individual companies paid up to 25 billion won in bribes. Former President Roh Tae-woo is guilty of bribing a total of 270.8 billion won from the heads of 33 companies, including up to 25 billion won of individual companies, and former President Chun Doo-hwan is guilty of receiving a total of 220.5 billion won in bribes from the heads of 32 companies, including up to 22 billion won of individual companies has been judged Former President Lee Myung-bak was convicted on charges of receiving 9.4 billion won in bribes, including 8.9 billion won in litigation costs from DAS. In the Gukjeong Nongdan case, former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil were convicted of soliciting or receiving bribes worth 24.5 billion won from three companies, including 8.9 billion won from one company. In bribery cases, the punishment for the recipient is higher than for the donor. When the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Crimes was enacted in 1966, the punishment was severe enough to punish convicts with more than 5 million won up to the death penalty. According to the current special law, anyone who accepts, demands, or promises a bribe of 100 million won or more is subject to life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least 10 years. However, in the case of bribes of 100 million won or more, the recommended sentence according to the Supreme Court’s sentencing standards is three to five years in prison, even if aggravated punishment.
Reporter Sang-Jun Park speakup@donga.com Go to reporter page>
Copyright by dongA.com All rights reserved.
