Rep. Kim Young-bae Likely to Lose His Job

Yesterday, the Criminal Division 10 of the Seoul High Court, an appellate division, fined Rep. Kim Young-bae of Millennium Democratic Party (Seoul, Yangchun District) 7 million won (approximately $6,000). Kim was indicted and tried for his violation of the election laws. The trial court found him guilty and fined him 5 million won.

The Election Law provides that if an elected official is convicted and fined more than one million won, and the Supreme Court denies his/her certiorari, then the official automatically loses his/her officialdom.

The court held, "Defendant himself argues before the Court that he did not make any donations, and Ilsuk Mountain-climbers Association, of which Defendant is a member, has served for more than 10 years just the personal relationship purposes. This Court, however, deems the activities of the association those of Defendant, and finds that said activities violated the law, considering factors such as his position as permanent advisor, the composition of its membership, and the procedures and natures of said activities."

In the meanwhile, Judge Byun Oh-yon of the Seoul District Court found Rep. Song Young-gil of Millennium Democratic Party (Inchon, Gaeyang District) guilty as charged and fined him 10 million won along with an order to confiscate 100 million won worth of his assets. Song was indicted for violating the Act on Political Donations. In this case, however, Song would not lose his job since, under the act, automatic deprivation of congressmanship occurs only when the defendant is sentenced a prison term. Thus, if the sentencing is not increased on appeal, Song will retain his office.

The court held, "This court found Defendant guilty on all counts as charged. This court decided to fine him in consideration of his political inexperience at the time of his acceptance of the bribe, and lack of knowledge about the relevant laws. In addition, the records do not show that he had used the money for any purposes other than political ones."

Song was indicted in last May for receiving 100 million won (approximately, $83,000) from Daewoo Group`s former chairman Kim Woo-jung in May of 1999. Song, after the receipt, did not put it on the books and used it for his campaign.

On the other hand, the trial for Rep. Kim Yoon-hwan was postponed. He filed a continuance motion with the court due to his ill health. Kim, who was found guilty of bribery for taking money from construction companies, has recently undergone a serious surgery. He was sentenced to 5 years on trial, and has appealed from the decision.

The appeals trial of Rep. Kim Yoon-sik of Grand National Party was also continued to 10 a.m. on Jan. 28th. He did not make his court appearance due to his business trip abroad. The trial court fined Kim 10 million won for violation of the Election Law.

The appeal of the prosecutors in the case of Yongin City`s Mayor Lee Chong-moon was dismissed by the appellate court. Therefore, Lee has to pay for 700,000 won fine for his violation of the campaign law.

Jin-Kyun Kil leon@donga.com