Former Ssangbangwool Group Chair Kim Sung-tae, who was indicted on charges of third-party bribery in connection with the 8 million dollar North Korea remittance case, will face a retrial in the first instance court.

The Suwon High Court’s Criminal Division 2 overturned the lower court’s decision to dismiss the indictment against the former chair, who was charged with bribery and other offenses, and remanded the case to the original court today (July 10).

Regarding the legal interests protected by the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, the court explained that they are "national and economic interests, such as the order of foreign exchange management, the balance of international payments, and the stability of currency value."

The court further stated that the legal interest protected by the bribery charge in this case is "the fairness of the execution of duties and the fairness of state functions," noting that the legislative purposes of the two offenses are different.

The court ruled, "Even if it is considered that the execution of the acts partially overlapped in that the defendant provided foreign currency to the other party, it cannot be evaluated as a single act under the law when the charges involve different constituent elements and protected legal interests."

The court explained, "Since the violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and the bribery charge in this case differ in their legislative purpose, protected legal interests, acts, subjects, modes, and counterparties, it is difficult to view them as offenses that can be punished with a single sentence under Article 40 of the Criminal Act."

The court determined that the two offenses are in a relationship of substantive concurrence, rather than imaginary concurrence.

(Photo: Yonhap News)