Officials involved in licensing corruption found not guilty at first trial and then appeal

Public officials who were put on trial on charges of preparing false official documents at the request of a real estate development company were found not guilty in the first and second trials.

According to the legal community on the 17th, the 6-3 Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court held an appeal trial for seven people, including Mr. A, in his 50s, who was indicted on charges of preparing false official documents, using false official documents, and obstructing the execution of official duties on December 17 last year, and declared them not guilty as in the first trial.

Mr. A, while working as a local government official in 2012, was put on trial on charges of receiving a favor from company B, a real estate development company, and providing convenience in obtaining construction-related permits.

Company B submitted documents to the local government department stating that it would build a joint collection and delivery center on a specific site designated as an urban planning facility at the time, and the prosecution believed that Mr. A had written a false official document despite knowing that Company B's request violated the current law.

The prosecution also claimed that Company B's joint collection and delivery center, which was mainly used as a knowledge industry center and officetel, ran counter to the purpose of urban planning facilities, which is to improve public welfare, and did not carry out change procedures to conduct development activities other than the original purpose.

In addition, Company B was unable to carry out development activities as it did not meet the requirements for designation as a legitimate project implementer, and it was emphasized that Mr. A and others were aware of this fact but tolerated it.

The first trial court found them all not guilty in January last year.

The court first noted that Mr. A and others falsely stated facts in the process of preparing official documents and did not apply the law.

Even if there is a mistake in incorrectly applying a law or not applying a law that should have been applied, the crime of creating a false official document cannot be established if there is no false statement about the facts that formed the premise of its application.

Additionally, the court determined that at the time the document was written, there was no clear legal principle that could legally prohibit or make it impossible to designate Company B as the project implementer.

In addition, it was explained that it was not easy to reach a conclusion as there were many different opinions as to whether the joint delivery center that Company B wanted to build actually violated the purpose of the previous urban planning facility and whether a separate change procedure should have been followed before approval.

At the same time, the court added, "It is difficult to conclude that the defendant, who is a public official, had an intention to write false official documents at the time of performing his work because he chose a certain opinion and carried out his work before the interpretation of the law was established, which ultimately became illegal."

Although the prosecution objected to this not guilty verdict, the appellate court dismissed the appeal, saying that there was no error in factual or legal misunderstanding in the original judgment.

Law firm Yuhan Daeryun Ahn Seung-jin, who represented Mr. A, said, "At the time, Mr. A followed administrative procedures based on a legal interpretation of the law." He added, "Contrary to the prosecution's claims, Company B's business plan at the time was not different from the purpose and content of existing urban planning facilities, and we emphasized that the violations of law stated in the indictment were based on an incorrect interpretation of the law."
 

Reporter Ko Young-min (youngman@ikbc.co.kr)

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Public officials involved in licensing corruption found not guilty at first trial and then appeal (Shortcut)