Attorney Im Jeong-hyeok, a former high prosecutors' office chief who was indicted on suspicion of receiving 100 million won from developer Chairman Jeong Ba-ul (70) of Asia Developer in exchange for quashing an investigation related to alleged corruption in the Baekhyeon-dong development project, was finally acquitted.
The Supreme Court's Second Division (presiding Justice Chun Dae-yup) said on the 21st that it upheld the lower court ruling acquitting Im, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Attorney‑at‑Law Act, on Mar. 12.
The alleged "Baekhyeon-dong development project corruption" concerns suspicions that President Lee Jae-myung, while serving as Seongnam mayor, granted favors during the apartment development of the former Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI) site in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, by excluding Seongnam Development Corporation and raising the land use by four grades for private developer Chairman Jeong.
Im served as chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, deputy prosecutor general at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and head of the Legal Training Institute at the Ministry of Justice, then retired in Dec. 2015 and opened a law practice in 2016. The former high prosecutors' office chief took on Jeong's defense in June 2023 when Jeong was under prosecution investigation and was brought to trial on charges of receiving 100 million won in return for asking prosecutors to smooth over the investigation.
Prosecutors viewed that Chairman Jeong sought a former high-ranking prosecutor-turned-lawyer to avoid detention as the investigation into the Baekhyeon-dong development corruption case continued. They said Attorney Im told Jeong's side, "I know senior officials at the prosecution well, so I will go up to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and wrap up the case so that Chairman Jeong is not detained," and received 100 million won as a retainer.
Im met with Director General A, a senior prosecutor, at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and submitted a one-page opinion. He received 100 million won from Chairman Jeong into his personal account and did not issue a cash receipt until immediately after the prosecutors' search and seizure.
Under the Attorney‑at‑Law Act, an attorney must not receive money or valuables under the pretext of providing to or socializing with judges or prosecutors. Nor may an attorney explicitly include the expense for providing to or socializing with judges or prosecutors in attorney's fees or success fees. Violations are punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Im to two years in prison, suspended for three years, and ordered a forfeiture of 100 million won. The first-instance court said, "Attorney Im visited the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and met Director General A to ask for non-detention without even submitting a letter of engagement, and otherwise did not carry out defense activities as counsel," adding, "It can be seen that money was received under the pretext of socializing or making requests, not as part of normal legal services."
However, the appeals court acquitted Im. The appellate court said, "It is hard to conclude that the total 1 billion won contracted as a fee—including a 900 million won success fee contingent on indictment without detention at the prosecution stage and 100 million won received as a retainer—is excessively high."
It continued, "From the early police (investigation) stage through the prosecution stage, Chairman Jeong retained more than a dozen attorneys. The expense confirmed as actually expended for retainers alone exceeds 2.8 billion won," adding, "Given that Im had substantial former-official experience, that the case was drawing public attention, and that a request for an arrest warrant was imminent, it is difficult to view his fee as excessively higher than other attorneys'."
The appellate court did not find credible the testimony by former KH Real Estate Development Chairman Lee, a legal broker cited as evidence of guilt at first instance, saying "the key parts were recanted or not specific."
The appeals case for Im was handled by the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 6, then composed of High Court Judges Lee Ye-seul, Jeong Jae-o, and Choi Eun-jeong. The same panel acquitted President Lee Jae-myung in the appeal of his Public Official Election Act case in March last year.
The Supreme Court dismissed the prosecutor's appeal, saying the lower court's decision did not misunderstand the legal principles.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 1 (then Director General Um Hee-jun) indicted Chairman Jeong on June 27, 2023, on charges including violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Chairman Jeong was sentenced in the first trial on Apr. 1 last year to two years in prison, suspended for four years. In the second trial in Nov. last year, the sentence was reduced to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.