Lee Jong-ho, former head of Black Pearl Invest and a close aide to Kim Keon-hee, who was indicted on charges of court lobbying, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison at the first trial.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 23 (presiding judge Oh Se-yong) on the 13th sentenced the former head to one year and six months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 79.1 million won on a charge of violating the Attorney‑at‑Law Act.
The special counsel team investigating Kim Keon-hee had asked the court at a sentencing hearing in Dec. last year to sentence the former head to four years in prison, a fine of 10 million won, and the forfeiture of 83.9 million won.
The former head was arrested and indicted in Aug. last year on charges that, from June 2022 to Feb. 2023, he received 81 million won in 25 installments in exchange for promising to secure a suspended sentence instead of a prison term for a person surnamed Lee, the "main player" in the first round of Deutsch Motors stock manipulation, in Lee's criminal trial.
According to the special counsel, the former head was found to have leveraged his acquaintance with the first lady to persuade Lee and, by showing photos taken with lawmakers and others, said he could use his connections in politics and the legal community to influence the trial.