hankyoreh

April 9.

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, who was indicted on charges of accepting $50 thousand from former Korea Express CEO Kwak Young-wook, was found not guilty during her first trial.


At the sentencing hearing, the Seoul Central District Court did not recognize the charge itself, namely that she accepted $50 thousand, and criticized the problem points of the prosecutors’ investigation one by one. Accordingly, criticism of “targeted investigations” aimed at key opposition figures is likely to increase.



The bench listed three points of contention in the case: first, whether she accepted $50 thousand, second, whether lobbying for job assurances took place, and third, whether the money was given with the expectation of reciprocity. The court stated, however, that so long as the first point, that she accepted $50 thousand, remains unproven, the other points correspondingly do not require judgment. This means the prosecutors did not pass the first step in proving guilt. The court also strongly criticized the attitude of the prosecutors. They said it was possible Kwak, unable to withstand threats and fierce interrogation from prosecutors, gave false testimony.



The bench said prosecutors continued to grill Kwak, who is in very poor health, throughout the night, and it appears he even feared for his life. The bench also said that this did not appear in the prosecutors’ report and expressed doubt about prosecutors’ claims that Kwak gave his testimony freely.



The court also elaborated on what Kwak stood to gain by testifying he gave a bribe. The bench noted that it was entirely possible Kwak violated stock dealing laws by buying and selling Korea Express shares under an account listed under an assumed name, but aside from noting that their internal investigation concluded Kwak’s dealings had been normal, prosecutors failed to submit even their investigation reports. The bench also expressed doubt over the way in which prosecutors calculated the difference in totals of company money embezzled between Kwak and Lee Kook-dong, another former Korea Express president who was indicted for embezzlement. After making issuing judgments upon three factors: first, Kwak’s frequent changes in testimony, second, the goal of his testimony, and third, whether he gave the testimony freely, the court concluded it could not acknowledge the credibility of Kwak’s testimony.


The court also completely denied the prosecutors’ charges, noting that the Prime Minister’s office is an open place always being watched, and that it is unrealistic for Kwak to suddenly place a $50 thousand bribe on the chair without saying anything first and for Han to hide it in a short period of time. Accordingly, the court also ruled Kwak was not guilty on charges of giving bribes.


In a statement issued following the ruling, Han said the truth had been revealed, and that there should never again be people like her sacrificed in the name of political maneuvering.


Prior to this, the Seoul Central District Court’s second criminal division indicted Han on charges of accepting $50 thousand left on a chair by Kwak at the Prime Minister’s Office in Seoul’s Samcheong neighborhood in December of 2006. Kim Joo-hyeon, a high-ranking prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Court, called the ruling unpersuasive and said that they would immediately appeal to correct the mistake made by the court.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]