Lee sisters acquitted of bribery charges

The verdict of the court on the first instance in the apparel bribery case was based almost entirely on the findings of the special prosecutor rather than the ordinary prosecution. It seriously sullied the credibility and neutrality of regular prosecutors in criminal investigations, heralding future demands for the appointment of special prosecutors in similar politically sensitive cases.

The Seoul District Court Thursday sentenced Jeong Il-Sun, proprietor of Laspo Dressmaker's, and Bae Jeong-Suk, wife of former Unification Minister Kang In-Duk, to prison terms of one and a half years and 1 year, respectively, on charges of violating the law on testimony and legal consultation on the National Assembly floor.

Yeon Jeong-Hi, wife of ex-Justice Minister Kim Tae-Jung, was also found guilty of the same charges and received a 1-year prison term with a two-year suspended sentence. Meanwhile, the judging panel told the court that Lee Hyung-Ja, wife of former Dong-A group chairman Choe Sun-Yeong, and her sister Lee Yeong-Ki were innocent of the charges of falsely testifying that they were requested by Jeong and Yeon to pay for the apparel, which was meant to be a bribe.

Bae was acquitted of the charge of breaking the law on attorneys at law. The Seoul Prosecution had concluded that the case was a failed attempt at "lobbying" by the two Lees and the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, which took over the probe for review, defined it as a framing effort by the Lees. The court decision said that the pair was not guilty of the prosecution¡¯s accusation that they gave false testimony during a parliamentary hearing concerning a telephone call from Jeong on Dec. 18, 1998 in which Jeong asked the two to pay for three mink coats acquired by Yeon. No proof was available to support the allegation, it said.