Prosecutors appealed the first-trial verdict for former Starmobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, who was indicted on charges of delivering illegal political funds. It came a week after the ruling on the 17th, on the last day prosecutors could file an appeal in the criminal case.
According to legal sources, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office filed a notice of appeal with the first-trial court for the former chairman on this day. The former chairman was acquitted of violating the Political Funds Act by the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 12 single-judge panel (Judge Seo Young-woo).
The former chairman is accused of providing a total of 160 million won to former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Dong-min, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Su-jin, former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Young-chun, and a person surnamed Kim, a former prospective National Assembly candidate, in 2016.
Prosecutors are said to have appealed only the portions of the offering charges against the former chairman and the former leader that relate to former lawmaker Ki and former lawmaker Kim.
The former chairman is known as the behind-the-scenes financier (錢主) of Lime Asset Management, which declared a halt to redemptions for 177 funds, causing investor losses amounting to 1.7 trillion won.
Kim was sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Supreme Court after being found guilty of embezzling 40 billion won from the payment for acquiring Starmobility convertible bonds (CB) invested in by Lime Asset Management, embezzling 20.6 billion won from a bank account under the name of Suwon Passenger, and embezzling a total of 125.8 billion won.