A former senior aide to Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo has been sentenced to prison and taken into custody for destroying evidence ahead of a search and seizure, regarding allegations that Jeon received money and valuables from the Unification Church during his tenure as a lawmaker.

Judge Kim Su-hong of Criminal Division 3 at the Busan District Court's Western Branch sentenced person A, a former senior aide in his 50s who served when the mayor was a lawmaker, to one year in prison today (the 30th) on charges of destroying evidence, citing a risk of flight and ordering him into custody.

Person B, a Grade 4 aide in his 50s who was indicted along with him, was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to complete 120 hours of community service.

Person C, an 8th-grade aide in his 30s, and Person D, an intern aide in their 20s, were each fined 3 million won.

The aides argued that the statute of limitations for Mayor Jeon's alleged acceptance of money and valuables had already expired, meaning the crime of evidence destruction could not be established, but Judge Kim did not accept this argument.

Judge Kim stated, "If the investigation reveals that the bribe amount received by Jeon Jae-soo was 30 million won or more, the statute of limitations period becomes 10 years or longer, meaning that the statute of limitations had not expired at the time of the crime," adding, "It cannot be concluded that there was no possibility of criminal prosecution."

The defendants' claims that the destroyed storage media contained no evidence related to the allegations and thus the crime of evidence destruction was not established were also rejected.

Judge Kim explained, "It appears there was evidence related to the criminal case, such as Jeon Jae-soo's schedule and meeting details at the time," and added, "Even if such evidence did not hold great evidentiary value in Jeon Jae-soo's criminal case, according to Supreme Court precedent, it has no effect on the establishment of the crime of evidence destruction."

Judge Kim also noted that after intern D was questioned by the police, senior aide A spoke with them with the gist of, "If talk about the Seoul office comes up, you must never mention it."

Regarding senior aide A, Judge Kim stated, "While there is some question as to whether the crime was planned and executed solely on his own independent judgment," he added, "at least within the Busan office, he played a leading role in the acts, which he himself acknowledges."

Aide B's claim that he did not conspire in the crime but merely connived at A's actions was also not accepted.

Judge Kim ruled, "Although he did not directly carry out the specific execution, as the most senior official in the Busan office, he directed the crime alongside A," adding, "Considering that A could not have easily committed the crime had B opposed it, his responsibility is not light."

As for intern D, the court noted that while they directly carried out most of the crimes, it was at the instruction of superiors, and as an intern aide at the time, it would have been somewhat difficult to refuse the orders.

Judge Kim also took into consideration that D had no prior criminal record, adding, "They are the only one among the defendants who appears to show an attitude resembling remorse for their crime."

Judge Kim pointed out, "The defendants' crime severely infringed upon the public's constitutional right to know," and noted regarding the defendants, who held the status of public officials at the time, that "before being subordinates of Jeon Jae-soo, they were servants to the entire citizenry."

Furthermore, Judge Kim stated the reasoning for the sentencing by saying, "It appears the defendants committed the crime expecting to receive tangible or intangible benefits from Jeon Jae-soo in the future," and added, "If so, the disadvantages resulting from the crime should at least outweigh the anticipated benefits."

(Photo: Provided by Busan Metropolitan City, Yonhap News)