Associate of Kim Keon-hee Gets Reduced Sentence in Appeal for Court Lobbying Case
Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
TLDR
- Lee Jong-ho, a former CEO linked to Kim Keon-hee, received a reduced prison sentence in his appeal trial for bribery related to court lobbying.
- The appellate court dismissed part of the charges, ruling that the specific bribery case was outside the scope of the special prosecutor's investigation.
- However, the court upheld convictions for accepting money to influence the trial related to the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.
In a significant development concerning the legal entanglements surrounding first lady Kim Keon-hee, Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Investment and a figure reportedly close to her, has seen his sentence reduced on appeal. The Seoul High Court handed down a sentence of one year and two months, along with a fine of 71.1 million won, for charges including violations of the Attorneys Act.
The charges of receiving money for the purpose of quashing a criminal case are dismissed.
Crucially, the appellate court dismissed a portion of the charges, specifically those related to Lee's alleged acceptance of money to influence a criminal case unrelated to the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation. The court reasoned that this particular bribery case fell outside the investigative mandate of the special prosecutor's team, which was focused on allegations surrounding Kim Keon-hee and the stock manipulation scheme. This ruling effectively narrows the scope of Lee's conviction.
However, the court did affirm the conviction on charges stemming from Lee's alleged efforts to lobby for favorable outcomes in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation trial. The court found that Lee had accepted approximately 83.9 million won from an individual identified as 'A,' who was a co-conspirator in the stock manipulation, with promises of securing an executive probation. The court deemed this aspect of the case directly relevant to the special prosecutor's investigation into the stock manipulation allegations.
The matter of seeking favors in the trial for the embezzlement case is not within the scope of the special prosecutor's investigation.
This appellate ruling highlights the complexities of the legal proceedings and the careful distinctions drawn by the judiciary regarding the scope of investigations. While Lee Jong-ho's sentence has been reduced, the core finding that he used his connections to solicit money for influencing a trial related to the Deutsch Motors case remains, underscoring the ongoing scrutiny of individuals connected to the first lady and past financial scandals in South Korea.
The request was to help with the trial for the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case, and it seems necessary for the special prosecutor to investigate this matter together to uncover the truth of the stock manipulation case.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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