Former Lawmaker Woo Je-chang Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Accepting Hundreds of Millions of Won in Bribes from Construction Firm

A prison sentence of four years has been finalized for former lawmaker Woo Je-chang, who was indicted on charges of accepting hundreds of millions of won in illegal kickbacks under the guise of lobbying for a highway soundproof wall construction project.

The Supreme Court's Third Division (presiding Justice Oh Seok-joon) finalized the lower court's ruling today (Sept. 2) sentencing Woo, who was indicted on charges including mediation and receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes, to four years in prison and ordering the forfeiture of 956.61 million won.

Woo was arrested and indicted in May of last year on charges of receiving approximately 990 million won from a construction company representative between August 2021 and March of last year regarding the construction of a soundproof wall on the Yeongdong Expressway near a regional housing association development site in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Investigations showed that Woo demanded and received the money under the guise of sales proceeds for surplus coffee machines from a company he represented, after promising to use his influence as a former member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, as well as connections with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and executives and employees of Korea Expressway Corporation, to ensure that the soundproof wall installation project would proceed.

In November of last year, the first trial sentenced Woo to three years and six months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 888.36 million won.

The first trial stated in its ruling, "The defendant solicited and received money and valuables from a contractor under the pretext of lobbying and mediation, leveraging the personal networks he built during his two terms as a lawmaker."

The first trial recognized the accepted amount as 888.36 million won, ruling that the receipt of a portion of the coffee machine proceeds was not sufficiently proven.

In May, the second trial overturned part of the lower court's acquittal, recognizing that portion of the payments as also being given in exchange for lobbying, thus increasing the total recognized bribe amount to 956.61 million won.

The second trial increased the prison sentence to four years and ordered the forfeiture of approximately 950 million won in received funds.

The appellate court explained its sentencing reasoning, stating, "The nature of the defendant's crime is very grave, and the methods used were meticulous, such as receiving money by inflating construction costs through fabricated secondary contracts with subcontractors and taking back the difference. Nevertheless, he has consistently offered implausible excuses and shows no remorse whatsoever."

Woo appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, ruling that there were no errors in the lower court's judgment.

Woo, who served as a member of the National Assembly for the 17th term representing the Uri Party and the 18th term representing the Democratic Party, ran as an independent candidate in the Yongin-gap constituency in Gyeonggi Province for the April 10 general election in 2024 and was defeated.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.