Appellate ruling in Lee Jae-yong case is a bad sign for Park Geun-hye

Posted on : 2018-02-06 18:17 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
The former president and her associate Choi Soon-sil are likely to face heavy punishment
Former President Park Geun-hye
Former President Park Geun-hye

An appellate court ruling freeing Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong with a suspended sentence is raising questions about the possible impact on the first trial ruling for former President Park Geun-hye, which is expected around the end of this month, and sentencing for Choi Soon-sil on Feb. 13.

With the ruling confirming Park and Choi as joint principal offenders in the bribery charges, both appear likely to face heavy punishments. In its ruling, the appellate court for Lee’s case described Park and Choi as joint principal offenders, concluding that the two had “coordinated and divided roles in accepting bribes, with former President Park demanding bribes from Mr. Lee and Ms. Choi accepting the bribes and directing/controlling the entire process.”

In particular, the court said, “The chief offenders in the government interference case are former President Park, who delegated presidential authorities to a private individual, and Ms. Choi, who used that authority to pursue personal gains.”

“Censure of the government official [Park] is especially serious in a case of bribery by demand such as this one,” it declared.

The court also stressed that Lee’s offering of bribes had “occurred because of the coercion of former President Park.”

While the crime of offering bribery carries a maximum legal sentence of five years with no additional punishment, criminal law allows life sentences for acceptance of bribes of over 100 million won (US$91,000). With 3.6 billion won (US$3.3 million) in bribes recognized by the court’s ruling, Park appears almost certain to face a heavy sentence. While Choi could receive a reduced sentence as an abettor or accomplice rather than a joint principal offender in the bribery case, the chances are seen as slim.

At the same time, the ruling clearly rejected most of the charges in the special prosecutors’ indictment. The court recognized only equestrian support as bribery, while refusing to recognize an “improper request” for assistance with the overarching issue of Samsung’s management rights succession. Accordingly, it concluded that support to the Korea Winter Sports Elite Center and funding for the Mir and K-Sports Foundations did not constitute bribes.

It remains to be seen whether the court hearing Park’s case reaches the same conclusions. If the appellate court’s conclusions are accepted, the large reduction in the amounts of bribes accepted by Park could impact her sentencing decision.

By Yeo Hyun-ho, senior staff writer

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