▲ Choi Jae-won, former head of the Yongsan-gu Public Health Center
Choi Jae-won, the former head of the Yongsan-gu Public Health Center, who was accused of ordering a subordinate to falsify his arrival time at the scene of the Itaewon tragedy, has received a suspended prison sentence in his appellate trial.
The Seoul Western District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 2-2 (Presiding Judges Jung Sung-kyun, Lee Hyun-woo, and Lee Dong-sik) upheld the lower court's ruling today (July 16), sentencing Choi to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of fabricating and using official electronic records.
The court dismissed the appeals filed by both Choi and the prosecution, stating, "There are no new circumstances that warrant a change in the sentence, and the original sentencing does not appear to be outside the reasonable range due to being too heavy or too light."
Choi was indicted in March 2023 on charges of instructing a staff member to record his arrival time at the Itaewon tragedy site as 11:30 p.m., which was approximately 30 minutes earlier than his actual arrival.
Choi had argued that the report in question was created solely for internal use to record overtime work for staff.
However, the court rejected his claim, stating, "The report was titled as a 'report of duty' or 'report,' and generally, such documents are considered to be prepared for evidentiary purposes in preparation for external audits or reports to higher authorities."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.