Prison sentence for a local government head in a bribery case overturned with an acquittal on appeal, upheld by the Supreme Court of Korea

While serving as the head of a local government, the client was indicted on bribery charges for allegedly receiving money from a representative of a supplier in exchange for business favors, and was sentenced to imprisonment at the first instance.

Attorney Jaehoon Lee defended the client on appeal and before the Supreme Court of Korea.

The key issues were whether the statements of the alleged bribe giver, who claimed to have given money to the client, were credible, and whether those statements and the related evidence alone proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the client had received money.

In particular, because the client had been convicted at the first instance, it was important to challenge the credibility of the bribe giver's statements and overturn the lower court's findings of fact.

We analyzed the relevant facts, including the time and place at which the bribe giver claimed to have delivered the money and his relationship with the client, and argued for acquittal on appeal, focusing on the point that his statements lacked reasonableness and objective plausibility.

When the prosecution then appealed to the Supreme Court, we responded that the appellate court's assessment of the evidence and its acquittal were correct.

The appellate court found that the bribe giver's statements were not credible and that the evidence submitted by the prosecution did not prove that money had been received, so it reversed the lower court's conviction and acquitted the client.

The Supreme Court of Korea also upheld the appellate court's decision and dismissed the prosecution's appeal, and the client's acquittal became final.