Rep. Gong Sung-jin of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) was stripped of his National Assembly seat Thursday as the nation’s highest court upheld the lower courts’ rulings against the lawmaker indicted on bribe-taking charges.
The Supreme Court confirmed the lower courts’ verdict in which Gong was sentenced to eight months in prison but suspended for two years and 158 million won ($143,000) in fines for accepting hundreds of thousands of won in bribes from businessmen and government officials in return for providing various favors.
If a lawmaker is handed a sentence of over 1 million won in fines or a heavier punishment for violating election or political fund laws, he or she loses their parliamentary seat.
The latest ruling slashed the number of GNP seats to 171 in the 299-seat National Assembly.
In December 2009, Gong was indicted on charges of taking 40 million won from Kong Kyung-sik, owner of the Statewilshire Golf Club in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, in exchange for helping him obtain construction permits.
Gong was also charged with accepting nearly 200 million won in bribes from a golf cart manufacturer and an Internet start-up in return for helping them expand their businesses.
Currently, the lawmaker is also under investigation on charges of receiving 180 million won from Shin Sam-gil, the honorary chairman of Samhwa Mutual Savings Bank.