By Yun Suh-young
A female prosecutor who received luxury items from a law firm last year in exchange for peddling her influence was found not guilty Thursday by an appellate court.
The Busan High Court acquitted the woman of the charges, overruling a lower court’s decision. She had been sentenced to three years in prison by the Busan District Court in January and ordered to pay a 44.6 million won fine. She also had a Chanel bag and clothing she received as bribes seized by the court.
Identified by her surname Lee, the woman has become widely known as “the Mercedes prosecutor” for having a sedan leased to her by the law firm she peddled influence for. She apparently had an affair with a lawyer, surnamed Choi at the law firm in question and received bribes from it in exchange for handing its cases to her colleagues for leniency in court. She resigned from her position in November last year.
The higher court, however, acquitted Lee on the charges of receiving a Mercedes-Benz and a Chanel bag as bribes saying that they could not be considered as such as they were given to Lee at different times.
“The time Lee received a request from Choi for a lenient ruling was September 2010 but she received the Mercedes two years before in February 2008. So we cannot consider that the car was given to her as a bribe,” the court said.
“Apparently the car was given to Lee as a token of love because Lee had requested Choi prove his love for her as he had very complicated relationships with women.”
The court also said the Chanel bag and the use of Choi’s corporate credit card by Lee also took place at a different times from the request to use her influence.
Meanwhile, a civic activist group calling for democratic reform of the judiciary claimed the ruling was unjust and incomprehensible.