Former Gyeongbuk Provincial Council member Park Chang-wook has been sentenced to one year in prison for using a borrowed name account to secure funds for a nomination request to Jeon Seong-bae, known as 'Geun-jin Beopsa,' ahead of the 2022 local elections. While it was confirmed that Park delivered 100 million won in cash as a bribe, the court ruled that Jeon could not be considered a 'person engaged in political activities' under the Political Fund Law, leading to a not guilty verdict on those charges.
On September 2, the Supreme Court's third division, led by Justice Oh Seok-jun, upheld the lower court's one-year prison sentence for Park, who was charged with violations of the Political Fund Law and the Financial Real Name Act.
In April 2022, while a candidate for the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, Park allegedly solicited a nomination from Jeon through broker Kim, stating, "If you help me get the council nomination, I will pay you 100 million won." Following the confirmation of his nomination in May, Park presented Jeon with an expensive gift set of Hanwoo beef and the cash.
Park, along with his spouse, is also accused of concealing the source of funds by distributing 100 million won borrowed from an acquaintance across five residents' accounts and then withdrawing the cash.
The first trial found that Park's use of borrowed name accounts constituted a violation of the Financial Real Name Act, resulting in the one-year prison sentence. The court determined that Park had divided the funds among multiple accounts to evade criminal penalties related to the solicitation and payment of the bribe.
However, the court dismissed the charges under the Political Fund Law. While it was acknowledged that Park delivered 100 million won in cash to Jeon as a bribe for the nomination, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to classify Jeon as a 'person engaged in political activities' or to consider the funds as 'political funds.'
The special prosecutor's team argued that Jeon had engaged in political activities by using the title of 'Advisor to the Network Headquarters' during Yoon Suk-yeol's presidential campaign. However, the court found insufficient evidence to support claims that Jeon had participated in official or unofficial election campaigning for any specific candidate during the 2022 local elections.
The appellate court upheld the same findings. Both Park and the special prosecutor filed appeals, but the Supreme Court rejected them, stating there was no misunderstanding of the legal principles regarding 'other persons engaged in political activities' and political funds in the lower court's ruling.
Park's spouse, Seol, received a six-month prison sentence with a two-year suspension for violations of the Financial Real Name Act.
Broker Kim was acquitted of charges related to violations of the Political Fund Law concerning the nomination request. However, he was sentenced to one year and four months in prison for receiving money from a company in exchange for securing a contract through Jeon, which violated attorney regulations. Initially sentenced to one year and six months and ordered to forfeit 82 million won, Kim's sentence was reduced on appeal due to the unlawful collection of some evidence and difficulties in specifying the amount received.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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