By Kim Rahn
A local court sentenced former President Park Geun-hye's chief of staff Kim Ki-choon to one- and-a-half years in prison for illegally helping conservative civic groups gain financial support.
Ex-Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Cho Yoon-sun was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for two years after being found guilty of the same charge.
The Seoul Central District Court handed down the verdicts on the two former aides, and upon the ruling, Kim was taken to prison immediately, just 61 days after he finished serving 18 months in prison on other charges.
Kim is suspected of having forced the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) to provide 2.3 billion won to 21 conservative groups from February 2014 to April 2015, so they could rally in favor of the Park administration's policies and against liberal political parties and civic groups.
Cho allegedly forced the FKI to provide 3.5 billion won to 31 such groups for about a year from January 2015 when she was senior presidential secretary for political affairs. She was also suspected of accepting 45 million won in bribes between September 2014 and May 2015 from former National Intelligence Service officials.
The court recognized the parts they played in the coercion. "Kim and Cho were members of the presidential office who should have abided by the Constitution more strictly than anybody else. But they used their power to force the payments and infringed on the FKI's freedom of decision-making," it said.
But the court did not acknowledge the bribery allegation against Cho.
Prosecutors earlier sought four years in prison and 100 million won in fines for Kim, and six years in prison and 45 million won in fines for Cho.
Both Kim and Cho have been behind bars after being found guilty on charges that they led the creation of a blacklist of cultural figures critical of the Park administration. They were released on Aug. 6 and Sept. 22, respectively, as their periods in custody expired while the Supreme Court reviews their appeals.
If the Supreme Court upholds a high court ruling handing down two years for Cho for the blacklist, she will be put in prison to serve her remaining term.
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| Former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon |
Ex-Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Cho Yoon-sun was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for two years after being found guilty of the same charge.
The Seoul Central District Court handed down the verdicts on the two former aides, and upon the ruling, Kim was taken to prison immediately, just 61 days after he finished serving 18 months in prison on other charges.
Kim is suspected of having forced the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) to provide 2.3 billion won to 21 conservative groups from February 2014 to April 2015, so they could rally in favor of the Park administration's policies and against liberal political parties and civic groups.
Cho allegedly forced the FKI to provide 3.5 billion won to 31 such groups for about a year from January 2015 when she was senior presidential secretary for political affairs. She was also suspected of accepting 45 million won in bribes between September 2014 and May 2015 from former National Intelligence Service officials.
 |
| Former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun |
But the court did not acknowledge the bribery allegation against Cho.
Prosecutors earlier sought four years in prison and 100 million won in fines for Kim, and six years in prison and 45 million won in fines for Cho.
Both Kim and Cho have been behind bars after being found guilty on charges that they led the creation of a blacklist of cultural figures critical of the Park administration. They were released on Aug. 6 and Sept. 22, respectively, as their periods in custody expired while the Supreme Court reviews their appeals.
If the Supreme Court upholds a high court ruling handing down two years for Cho for the blacklist, she will be put in prison to serve her remaining term.
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