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Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case of bribery, which was the only plea to former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui, to retrial. The reason is that it is not clear how the person who said that he had bribed former Vice Minister Kim changed his mind in court.



First of all, this is reporter Hong Young-jae.



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Kim Hak-eui, the former vice minister, was acquitted on both counts of sexual favors and bribery related to Yoon Jung-cheon.



He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being convicted of receiving 43 million won for credit cards and gift certificates from Mr. Choi, the only businessman, in October last year, and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.



However, today (10th), the Supreme Court sent it back to the Seoul High Court for a retrial, saying that even on this charge, the credibility of Choi's statement, who provided the bribe, is questionable.



It is said that Mr. Choi had two pre-interviews with the prosecution before appearing as a witness in the trial, and on the spot confirmed the statement of the prosecution and the court, and even asked the prosecutor for a statement, and then the court reversed the previous statement.



Accordingly, the court ruled that Choi's statement was not credible unless the prosecutor could prove that the court's statement was not affected by conciliation or pressure during the interview process.



[Nam Seon-mi/Judicial Research Officer in charge of public affairs at the Supreme Court: The prosecutor summoned witnesses in advance before interrogation of the witnesses, and the original trial was partially abandoned in light of the circumstances in which the witness reversed some statements or gave testimony against the accused.]



The Supreme Court, however, confirmed the acquittal or acquittal of Yoon Jung-cheon's sexual favors and bribery allegations.



Kim Hak-eui's case investigation team said, "The preliminary interview with the witness was a measure based on the prosecution case business rules, and there was no conciliation or pressure at all."



Accordingly, in the remandatory retrial, whether Choi is qualified as a witness will be an issue in the trial, which could lead to an advantageous situation for Kim Hak-eui, former Vice Minister.



(Video coverage: Seo Jin-ho, Video editing: Park Jin-hoon, CG: Shim Soo-hyun) 



▶ After 8 years of dragging, it is finally in place… I missed the time and was covered in blemishes