The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is found to have recently released a defendant due to a CIO error, even though the person had been sent to trial and sentenced to prison for allegedly bribing a senior police official.
According to legal sources on the 10th, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 3 granted bail last month to businessman A, who is accused of offering bribes.
A is accused of giving bribes totaling around 700 million won to a police official, a person surnamed Kim, from June 2020 to February 2023, along with a request to arrange the officers in charge for matters related to business and criminal cases. In this case, A was sentenced to three years in prison at the first trial.
While in custody, A applied for bail to the appellate court last month. The problem is that, although the court requested the CIO to submit an opinion under current procedures, the CIO did not respond. The prosecutor in charge was also said to have failed to attend the bail hearing schedule.
In the end, the court granted bail based solely on the defendant's claims, with no opposing opinion from the prosecution. It was reported that the prosecutor in charge only became aware of the situation after the bail decision was made.
The CIO says a documentation staffer's mistake kept the court's document from reaching the prosecutor's office. It is said to be discussing whether to discipline the person in charge.