The court sentenced former National Assembly member Ha Young-je, who was brought to trial on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, to 1 year and 6 months in prison.
On the 29th, the Jinju Branch of Changwon District Court (Criminal Division 2, Min Byeong-guk) sentenced former lawmaker Ha, who was brought to trial on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, to 1 year and 6 months in prison for violating the Political Funds Act. It also ordered the confiscation of 2 million won in cash discovered during the investigation and the collection of 163.5 million won.
The court detained former lawmaker Ha immediately after the trial that day.
The court ruled that, “The defendant’s actions cannot be taken lightly as they undermine the legislative intent of the Political Funds Act, which is to contribute to the sound development of democratic politics.” The court added, “In particular, the defendant’s act of directly receiving a significant amount of money in exchange for exercising his influence over candidate recommendations during the primary for local council members harms the fairness of the party’s candidate nomination process and the transparency of party operations, and can shake the foundation of representative democracy. The nature of the crime is considerably worse.”
In addition, the court stated the reason for the sentencing, saying, “The defendant received a considerable amount of bribes through illicit means on a number of occasions while serving as a member of the National Assembly or as a candidate, so a prison sentence is inevitable. We took into account the fact that he contributed to the country and society while engaged in legislative activities, his advanced age, and the fact that the amount of the nomination fee did not affect the actual nomination results.”
Former Sacheon Mayor Song Do-geun, former South Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly member Lee Jeong-hoon, and former Assemblyman Ha’s aide, who were tried together on charges of giving money to former Assemblyman Ha, were each sentenced to a fine of 10 million won.
Former Assemblyman Ha is accused of receiving 70 million won in the process of recommending a specific person as a candidate for the provincial assembly, and of receiving 2 million won each in 15 installments, totaling 30 million won, from Mayor Song under the pretext of operating expenses for the People Power Party regional office. He is accused of receiving 40 million won from the former provincial assemblyman under the pretext of election expenses for the National Assembly, and 27.5 million won from a former aide, including a refund of part of his salary, for a total of 167.5 million won in illegal political funds.
Previously, the prosecution sought a five-year prison sentence for Rep. Ha, requesting a fine of 165.5 million won and a confiscation order for 2 million won discovered during the search and seizure. It sought a fine of 10 million won each for former Sacheon Mayor Song Do-geun, former Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly member Lee Jeong-hoon, and former Rep. Ha’s aide.
(Jinju=News 1)
-
- great
- 0dog
-
- I’m sad
- 0dog
-
- I’m angry
- 0dog
-
- I recommend it
- dog
Hot news right now
2024-08-29 14:30:33