Former lawmaker Hwang Bo-seung was sentenced guilty for receiving illegal political funds from a real estate agent he had a personal relationship with. The Busan District Court sentenced Hwang to 8 months in prison for violating the Political Funds Act and 4 months for violating the Anti-Corruption Act with a 2-year probation period. In addition, a fine of 142.7 million won was also imposed on him. Another individual involved, referred to as A, was sentenced to 8 months and 4 months in prison with a 2-year probation for the same charges.
Hwang was accused of receiving 50 million won from A between March 2020 and July 2021, and also receiving around 32 million won in rent payments and a 60 million won credit card usage from A, claiming they were for living expenses and unrelated to political funds. Despite their arguments that they should be exempt from charges due to their “de facto” marital relationship, the court ruled that there was no legal recognition of such relationship to grant them immunity.
The court pointed out that the sudden large sum of 50 million won received by Hwang was unusual and likely related to his political activities. It also noted that the apartment deposit, rent, and other expenses paid by A were in violation of the Anti-Corruption Act. The court emphasized that such actions undermined the legislative goal of preventing corruption and damaged public trust in lawmakers.
Hwang, who left the ruling party last year amid personal controversies and legal issues, ran as a proportional representative candidate for the Free United Party in the last general elections but was defeated.