A legal broker linked to Geonjin Beopsa, Lee Mo, has received a confirmed three-year prison sentence. This marks the first case in which the Supreme Court has finalized a sentence related to the special investigation team (involving insurrection, Kim Geon-hee, and deceased Marines).
According to Yonhap News on May 11, the Supreme Court's first division, led by Justice Seo Kyung-hwan, upheld the original ruling that sentenced Lee to three years in prison and imposed a fine of 400 million won for charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
In criminal cases, if the grounds for an appeal are deemed improper, the court may reject the appeal without further deliberation. This applies in cases where no appeal brief is submitted, claims of disproportionate sentencing are made despite a sentence of less than ten years, or when a defendant admits to the crime but disputes the facts.
Lee was arrested and indicted in August of last year for allegedly accepting 400 million won in exchange for promises to secure a not guilty verdict in court by leveraging connections with influential figures, including the president and prominent politicians from the People Power Party, as well as high-ranking legal professionals.
The Kim Geon-hee special investigation team, led by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki, viewed Lee as a broker who facilitated connections between individuals seeking to suppress investigations or influence court proceedings and Geonjin Beopsa.
In the first trial, all charges against Lee were found guilty, resulting in a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 400 million won.
Both the special investigation team and Lee's side appealed the decision, but the second trial increased the sentence to three years while maintaining the fine amount.
The second trial court noted, "If the public suspects that judicial procedures are influenced by external improper pressures or transactions, the mere existence of such suspicion can undermine the rule of law and critically damage the fairness of criminal procedures."
The court further stated, "The defendant's actions constitute a serious crime that undermines public trust in the independence of the judiciary and the fairness of trials, which are the last bastions of the rule of law. Therefore, a severe punishment is warranted."
Despite repeated appeals from Lee's side, the Supreme Court deemed the grounds for the appeal improper and decided to reject it.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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