Woo Je-chang, a former lawmaker, has been sentenced to four years in prison for accepting over 900 million won in bribes in connection with a soundproof wall construction project along a highway.
The Supreme Court's third division, led by Justice Oh Seok-jun, upheld the lower court's ruling on September 2, confirming the four-year prison sentence and a confiscation order of 956.61 million won for violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery) and the Attorney-at-Law Act.
Woo is accused of receiving approximately 990 million won from a construction company representative, identified as A, between August 2021 and March 2022, related to the installation of soundproof walls between a residential site near Bopyeong Station in Yongin and the Yeongdong Expressway.
Prosecutors allege that during his time as a lawmaker, Woo leveraged his connections to solicit bribes from officials at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, members of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and employees of the Korea Expressway Corporation, promising to facilitate the soundproof wall project.
Investigations revealed that Woo introduced A to practical staff and executives at the Korea Expressway Corporation to address issues, suggesting that if matters did not proceed smoothly, he would intervene through the National Assembly committee. He later disguised the payments as proceeds from the sale of coffee machines owned by his company or inflated subcontracting fees to receive kickbacks.
The first trial sentenced Woo to three years and six months in prison and ordered the confiscation of 888.36 million won. However, it found insufficient evidence to prove that over 98 million won was received as a bribe for solicitation and acquitted him of the charge of promising to receive 2.3 billion won in bribes, citing doubts about A's testimony.
The appellate court recognized 68.25 million won of the coffee machine payments as bribes related to the soundproof wall project, increasing the sentence to four years and the confiscation amount to 956.61 million won, while maintaining the acquittal on the 2.3 billion won promise.
The appellate court noted, "The amount received exceeds 900 million won, indicating a serious offense. The methods employed, such as inflating construction costs through subcontractors to receive kickbacks, demonstrate a calculated approach." It also remarked that Woo provided implausible excuses and showed no remorse.
Woo's appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court, which found no legal errors in the lower court's judgment.
Woo Je-chang was elected to the National Assembly in 2004 as a member of the United New Democratic Party and was re-elected in 2008 as part of the United Democratic Party. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 general election for the Yongin Gap constituency but was unsuccessful.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.