The former aide of Shin Young-dae, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, who was arrested and indicted on charges of accepting tens of millions of won in bribes related to the Saemangeum solar power project, received a reduced sentence in his appeal trial. The Seoul Northern District Court’s Criminal Appeals Division 2 (Presiding Judge Kang Young-hoon) overturned the original verdict on the morning of the 25th, sentencing Jeong Mo (56) to one year in prison and a fine of 15 million won for violating the Aggravated Punishment for Specific Crimes Act (Bribery). Previously, Jeong was sentenced to one year and two months in prison and a fine of 20 million won in the first trial.
The court maintained the guilty verdict, stating, “Even if part of the total amount was compensation for labor, it is overall considered bribery.” However, the court deemed that while it was acknowledged that 10 million won was transferred from Company A to Park Mo (58), it was not proven that 5 million won of this amount was passed to the defendant. This part was judged not guilty.
Regarding the 15 million won allegedly used for a car purchase, the court noted, “Even if the defendant did not undertake specific activities at the time when the selection of the project contractors was widely known in the community, accepting the money would still constitute guilt.”
After the trial, Jeong showed a faint smile as he looked towards the gallery and nodded once. Previously, Jeong had been brought to trial for allegedly receiving a total of 57.5 million won, claiming to facilitate the Saemangeum solar power project contract by bribing the responsible officials with cash of 20 million won and disguising the payment as salary for an amount of 37.5 million won.
In June of last year, prosecutors searched the National Assembly office of Representative Shin on charges including bribery and indicted Jeong on the same day. Broker Park, who had used his acquaintance with Jeong to help secure a portion of the ‘Saemangeum zone 2 land solar power project’ under the pretense of assisting, was sentenced in both the first and second trials to two years in prison and a fine of 72.5 million won for accepting money from a local electrical contractor.