A broadcast writer who was sentenced to 9 years in prison in the second trial for gaslighting (psychological manipulation) and extorting a large sum of money from Lee Min-woo, a member of the group Shinhwa, is set to have their case reassessed.
According to the legal community on the 27th, the Supreme Court's Second Division (Chief Justice Kim Sang-hwan) overturned the original ruling that sentenced broadcast writer A to 9 years in prison and ordered the return of the case to the Seoul High Court for reassessment regarding charges of fraud under the Specific Economic Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act.
In June 2019, A demanded 1.6 billion won as a bribe from Lee Min-woo, who was under investigation for sexual assault, claiming, "I have connections within the prosecution and can help you receive a non-indictment." However, A had no connections with any prosecutors.
When the prosecution cleared Lee Min-woo of charges in December of that year, A demanded additional money, claiming, "The prosecutors who received the money are in a difficult situation and are trying to reverse the decision." Consequently, Lee Min-woo took out a loan using his house as collateral and handed over his bank account details, passwords, and security card.
After transferring a total of over 2.6 billion won over 26 months, Lee Min-woo finally realized he had been deceived and reported A to the authorities. The prosecution indicted A for fraud and violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act in July of last year.
Both the first and second trials largely acknowledged A's charges, sentencing them to 9 years in prison and ordering the return of 2.6 billion won. However, the Supreme Court found that the amount of damages was excessively calculated. Some of the damages were merely amounts that had been transferred to another account after Lee Min-woo had already suffered the loss, which was deemed a 'non-punishable subsequent act' and thus not subject to punishment, leading to the case being sent back to the Seoul High Court.
The Supreme Court stated, "A deceived Lee Min-woo into taking out a loan and obtained money in exchange for soliciting or arranging with prosecutors, which already constitutes fraud and violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act," and explained, "Even if the loan amount already obtained was partially transferred through Lee Min-woo's other account to A or another account under a different name, it does not result in additional infringement of Lee Min-woo's legal interests or create new legal interests."
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
