Former Senior Prosecutor General Lim Jeong-hyeok, indicted on charges of receiving a large sum in exchange for quashing the investigation into the Baekhyeon-dong development corruption case, was acquitted in the second trial.
The 6-3 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Lee Ye-seul) acquitted Lim on charges of violating the Attorney Act on the 17th. The first trial had sentenced Lim to two years in prison, suspended for three years, but the second trial overturned the verdict.
The Baekhyeon-dong development corruption case involves allegations that President Lee Jae-myung, during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam, excluded the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation from the Baekhyeon-dong apartment development project and provided preferential treatment, such as upgrading the land use designation, to Jeong Ba-ul, chairman of Asia Developer, a private developer.
Lim was referred to trial on charges of receiving 100 million won in June 2023 in exchange for pleading with the prosecution to halt the investigation into Jeong’s case during the prosecution’s investigation phase. The prosecution argued that Lim, who had served as the head of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office and deputy chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, demanded a retainer fee of 1 billion won, stating, “I will use my connections within the prosecution to prevent your arrest,” and received an advance payment of 100 million won.
The first trial ruled, “Lim’s act of privately meeting with the leadership of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to request a non-custodial investigation was an inappropriate use of influence as a former prosecutor-turned-attorney, and receiving a large sum in exchange for assuring the possibility of a non-custodial investigation fell outside the scope of an attorney’s duties,” sentencing him to two years in prison, suspended for three years, and ordering the confiscation of 100 million won.
However, the second trial stated, “The agreement where Lim received 100 million won as an advance payment for taking on two cases involving Jeong and was to receive an additional 900 million won on the condition of avoiding arrest is a common form of retainer agreement frequently made in criminal cases.”
It added, “Considering that Lim is a former high-ranking prosecutor who served as deputy chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the significant public attention the case received at the time, and the imminent request for an arrest warrant, it is difficult to conclusively determine that setting a success fee of 900 million won and an advance payment of 100 million won on the condition of avoiding arrest was excessively high.”
The second trial also found insufficient evidence that Lim made requests to high-ranking prosecutors and viewed his actions as normal legal defense. Regarding the testimony from legal broker Lee Mo, former chairman of KH Real Estate Development, the second trial dismissed its credibility, stating, “Key parts were retracted or lacked specificity.”
Post a Comment