The dismissal of bribery charges against a Transportation Ministry official has been confirmed following an investigation into alleged preferential treatment related to the Yangpyeong Expressway project.
On June 24, the Supreme Court's third division, led by Justice Lee Suk-yeon, upheld the lower court's ruling that dismissed the charges against the official, identified as Kim. A dismissal means the prosecution's case is rendered invalid without a determination of guilt or innocence due to procedural errors.
Kim, who previously served as the head of the Road Management Division at the Wonju Regional Land Management Office, was accused of accepting 35 million won in cash and a 1 million won golf equipment gift certificate from the representative of construction company A in exchange for facilitating the company's contract for a national highway retaining wall project in 2023.
The special investigation team, led by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki, uncovered the bribery allegations while probing the Yangpyeong Expressway case and indicted Kim in October of last year. The team argued that related crimes identified during the investigation fell under their jurisdiction.
However, in January, the first-instance court ruled that Kim's bribery charges were not relevant to the ongoing investigation into the Yangpyeong Expressway allegations. The court determined that the evidence obtained under a search warrant related to the Yangpyeong case did not connect to Kim's alleged crime.
The court stated, "While it may have been possible to initiate an investigation based on a perceived connection to the Yangpyeong Expressway case, the information obtained during the investigation clearly indicated that the two cases were unrelated. Therefore, the case should have been transferred to the appropriate prosecutorial authority."
The second-instance court also affirmed the first-instance ruling, stating that the dismissal of charges was justified, and rejected the special prosecutor's appeal. The Supreme Court agreed, finding no errors in the second-instance court's determination that the prosecution was based on an illegal investigation.
Meanwhile, Kim is currently facing a separate trial for abuse of power related to the Yangpyeong Expressway allegations, having been indicted in December of last year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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