Top court strips lawmakers of National Assembly seats

By Lee Kyung-min

The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced Saenuri Party lawmaker Song Kwang-ho to four years in prison for bribery, Thursday.

The sentence immediately stripped Song of his National Assembly seat. Under the law, public officials convicted of criminal charges or fined over 1 million won are deprived of their posts.

“The Supreme Court recognized the lower court’s ruling, as the testimony about the charges was solid,” the court said.

The nation’s top court sentenced him to four years in prison and a 70 million won fine, as well as the forfeiture of 65 million won gained illegally during his time in office.

Song, a four-term lawmaker, was indicted for receiving 65 million won on at least 11 occasions from the head of the rail supply and construction company AVT between April 2012 and May 2014, in exchange for exerting his influence to help the firm win contracts in the government’s bullet train railroad construction projects.

At the time, he was indicted without physical detention as the Assembly did not pass a motion to have him arrested. Under the law, in order to arrest an incumbent lawmaker, the Assembly should approve the motion with the consent of more than half of the attending lawmakers.

But he was put behind bars immediately in January when the district found him guilty of bribery and sentenced him to four years in prison.

An appellate court upheld the guilty verdict, saying he deserves harsh punishment for betraying public trust and that higher moral standards are demanded from a four-term lawmaker.

Rep. Cho Hyun-ryong of the same party, who was also arrested and indicted for bribery in the railroad projects, was sentenced to five years in prison by district and appellate courts.