Two Years in Prison for Ex-President"s Son

Seoul High Court June 23 sentenced Kim Hyun-chul, the son of the former President Kim Young-sam, to two years in prison and 1.57 billion won in fines. The ex-President's son was prosecuted on charges of bribery and tax evasion. The court decided not to take the junior Kim into custody before the final verdict as they are assured that he will not attempt to flee or destroy evidence.
In February last year, the Seoul High Court sentenced him to three years in prison and 1.9 billion won in fines. However, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling due to procedural problems and lack of evidence and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court for re-deliberation in May.
The judges stated in the summing-up, '5 billion won which the accused deposited with Lee Sung-ho, the President of Daeho Construction Company, legally constitutes bribery as Kim got 50 million won of monthly interest. However, regarding the 500 million won which the accused received from another construction company, we found him not guilty, and accordingly reduced the punishment.'
Kang Joo-an : jooan@joongang.co.kr