By Kim Rahn
Prosecutors have sought a three-and-a-half year prison term for Choi See-joong, the former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, for allegedly accepting bribes from Picity, a real estate developer, in return for influence peddling.
In a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court Wednesday, the prosecution asked the court for the jail sentence and an 800 million won ($704,000) fine for the 75-year-old who is considered a mentor to President Lee Myung-bak.
“The kickback Choi took is a huge sum of money and he exercised influence in exchange for it. We have considered his age and his claims that he suffers from ailments, nonetheless we feel he deserves the heavy punishment,” a prosecutor said.
The ruling will be made at 2 p.m. on Sept. 14.
Choi was arrested in May on charges of receiving 800 million won on 13 occasions from the developer through a broker between July 2006 and February 2008. In return, he allegedly helped the developer’s business get quick and easy administrative affairs.
During the hearings, Choi claimed he received 600 million won, not 800 million won, and that the money was spent on running the primary of the then-ruling Grand National Party, currently the Saenuri Party, for then-contender Lee before the presidential election in December 2007.
Choi had claimed this in April before being arrested but changed his testimony saying that he spent it for personal use. He again revised his statement during the hearing, as well as denying he wielded influence regarding the Picity development project.
One of Lee’s other close aides, former Knowledge Economy Vice Minister Park Young-june, was also arrested on charges of facilitating Picity’s business in return for bribes.