Prosecutors Drop Case Against Former Lawmaker Noh Woong-rae on Bribery Charges

South Korean prosecutors have decided not to appeal the acquittals of former lawmaker Noh Woong-rae, who had been indicted on charges of bribery and violating political fund laws. The decision means Noh will not face further legal proceedings in the case, as both the first and second trials resulted in not-guilty verdicts.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced on March 28 that they would not file an appeal against the appellate court's ruling. Noh was accused of receiving approximately 60 million won on five occasions from the wife of a businessman, identified as Mr. Park, between February and December 2020. These alleged payments were reportedly in exchange for favors related to logistics center permits and assistance with power plant and solar power projects.

“

We have decided not to appeal the appellate court's ruling on the charges of bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act against former lawmaker Noh Woong-rae.

The prosecution's decision was influenced by recent court rulings that have adopted a stricter stance on the legality of evidence collection. In the appellate trial, the court ruled that the seizure and search of a mobile phone, which led to the discovery of evidence against Noh, were conducted in violation of warrant principles, rendering the evidence inadmissible. Similar reasoning was cited in the first trial's acquittal.

Prosecutors acknowledged that the likelihood of the Supreme Court overturning the acquittal based on these evidentiary issues was low. This decision reflects a broader trend in South Korean courts to scrutinize the methods of evidence gathering more rigorously, particularly in cases involving digital evidence. The prosecution stated that they considered the recent judicial trend and the potential outcome of an appeal before making their final decision.

“

We argued for the appeal based on the legality of evidence, but considering the recent court trend of judging the procedures and requirements for voluntary submission of evidence from existing seized items more strictly, and the possibility of acceptance if an appeal is filed, we made this decision.