Independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Kim Kyung were given prison terms by a lower court over the exchange of 100 million won ($72,000) in cash for a party nomination. The court found that Kang took the cash from Kim and then exerted influence over the nomination of candidates for the city council.
Judge Lee Chun-geun of the Seoul Central District Court on the 14th sentenced Kang, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, to two years and six months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 100 million won. Kim, indicted on the same charge, was sentenced to one year in prison. The court revoked bail for both and placed them in custody at the courtroom, finding a risk that they would destroy evidence or flee. Nam, a former aide to Kang who arranged the meeting between the two, received an eight-month prison term suspended for two years.
Kang and Kim were indicted on charges of exchanging 100 million won in cash in January 2022, ahead of local elections, in return for a nomination. Kang belonged to the Democratic Party of Korea at the time, and Kim was later named the party's sole nominee for a Seoul Metropolitan Council seat in Gangseo District, Seoul, part of Kang's constituency, and won the race. Kim and Nam admitted the charges during the trial, while Kang denied them outright.
The court found Kang guilty based on the combined accounts of Kim and Nam and on Kang's conduct during the nomination process.
The court held that Kang, then the Democratic Party's National Assembly member for Gangseo-A and head of the local party committee, was in a position to wield considerable influence over the recommendation of city council candidates. Drawing on statements from Nam and others involved, the court concluded that Kang was briefed between late 2021 and early January 2022 that Kim wanted the nomination and was willing to provide 100 million won.
The court also concluded that the 100 million won in cash was in fact handed over. While the accounts of Kim and Nam differ in part on how the cash was delivered, the court said their credibility was not undermined given that they testified a considerable time after the offense. It added that Kang was aware, at least by willful blindness, that the shopping bag contained 100 million won in cash.
The court also cited Kang's help with Kim's nomination after the cash changed hands as grounds for the guilty verdict. It noted that Kang, in phone calls with Kim, advised her on how to prepare for the nomination screening, including by relaying questions that members of the nomination committee had put to other candidates. The court also pointed to statements from those involved indicating that Kang's office had backed Kim during the screening. Kang, it found, went beyond simple political advice to signal active support for Kim.
The court treated Kang's own proposal to name Kim as the sole nominee as strong circumstantial evidence of guilt. Kang's side argued that she recommended Kim because it was difficult to find other female or young candidates, but the court rejected that explanation. "There is no material showing that other candidates were actively sought, and the circumstances in which Kang abruptly proposed naming Kim as the sole nominee were unusual," the court said. It also treated Kang's return of the 100 million won directly to Kim several months later as circumstantial evidence supporting the exchange of money.
The court rebuked the defendants, saying their conduct damaged the fairness of elections and the transparency of political funds. "They donated and received political funds by means not provided for under the Political Funds Act in connection with the recommendation of a city council candidate," Lee said, adding that they "seriously damaged public trust." Of Kang, the judge said she "denied the offense despite receiving a large sum and showed no attitude of remorse."