Ex-senior prosecutor jailed for corruption

Jin Kyung-joon is led away to jail in handcuffs. / Yonhap

/ Yonhap

A Seoul appellate court on Friday finalized the four-year prison term for a former high-ranking prosecutor charged with corruption and bribery, after the top court ordered a retrial on part of his charges.

Jin Kyung-joon, an former senior official at the prosecution and the Ministry of Justice, was indicted in 2016 for receiving 950 million won ($889,000) in stocks and cash from his college friend, Kim Jung-ju, the founder of South Korea's major online game publisher Nexon Co., from 2005 to 2014.

The 51-year-old was also accused of exerting influence with the former vice president of Korean Air Lines Co. to sign contract deals worth some 10 billion won in total with a company owned by his brother-in-law.

He was sentenced to seven years for bribery by the Seoul High Court in July last year. But the top court sent the case back in December, saying it is difficult to confirm that the money was paid in return for favors that related to Jin's duty. He was convicted of the latter charge involving his family.

The top court has ruled that it cannot be viewed as having exchanged bribes when charges only point to vague assumptions based on circumstantial evidence.

The appellate court on Friday ruled in line with the top court's judgment and upheld the initial not guilty verdict on Kim. (Yonhap)