Former Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui is set to receive a criminal compensation payment of 130 million won from the state. This follows his acquittal after being indicted on bribery charges.
On the 8th, the 4-2 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Kwon Hyuk-jung, Judges Hwang Jin-gu and Ji Young-nan) announced on the official gazette that it confirmed a decision to award Kim 125.1 million won for detention compensation and 8.995 million won for expense compensation.
Criminal compensation is a system that reimburses defendants for damages related to detention periods, attorney fees, transportation fees, etc., in cases where acquittals are confirmed.
Former Vice Minister Kim was indicted in June 2019 for allegedly receiving 43 million won in bribes from construction contractor Choi Mo from 2000 to 2011, but he was acquitted after five trials in August 2022.
The first trial acquitted him, but the appellate court found evidence of quid pro quo and imposed a prison sentence.
However, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Seoul High Court. At that time, the Supreme Court noted that the content of Choi's court testimony, which was used as decisive evidence in the appellate court, had changed. The court indicated that it should be proven that Choi's testimony was not altered due to coercion or pressure during pre-testimony interviews.
Ultimately, the remand trial court acquitted him. The prosecution attempted to appeal again, but the acquittal was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
During this process, former Vice Minister Kim was arrested and indicted, released after an acquittal in the first trial, re-arrested after a prison sentence in the second trial, and finally released following the Supreme Court's remand ruling, spending approximately 14 months in detention.