 ▲필자/ 정성태 칼럼니스트. ©브레이크뉴스 |
전재수 부산시장의 국회의원 시절 불거진 통일교 금품수수 의혹에 대한 경찰의 압수수색을 앞두고 증거를 인멸한 혐의로 기소된 전 시장의 전직 보좌진 4명에 대해 1심 법원이 30일 모두 유죄를 선고했다.
부산지법 서부지원 형사3단독 김수홍 부장판사는 증거인멸 혐의로 기소된 전 시장의 전직 선임비서관 50대 A씨에게 징역 1년을 선고하고 도주 우려가 있다며 법정 구속했다. 50대 전직 4급 보좌관 B씨에 대해서는 징역 8개월에 집행유예 2년 선고 및 사회봉사 120시간을 명령했다. 30대 전직 8급 비서관 C씨와 20대 전직 인턴 비서관 D씨는 각각 벌금 300만원이 선고됐다.
통일교 금품수수 의혹은 전 시장이 통일교 측으로부터 3000만~4000만원 상당의 현금과 명품 시계를 받았다는 내용이다. 윤영호 전 통일교 세계본부장은 지난해 12월 자신의 재판에서 “민중기 특검팀 조사 때 이러한 내용을 진술했는데 더불어민주당 쪽 수사는 진행되지 않고 있다”며 편파수사 의혹을 제기한 바 있다.
전직 보좌진은 1심 재판을 통해, 전 시장의 통일교 금품수수 의혹에 대한 공소시효가 이미 지나 증거인멸죄가 성립하지 않는다고 주장했다. 이에 대해 김 판사는 "전재수가 수수한 뇌물액이 3천만원 이상인 것이 수사를 통해 드러나는 경우 공소시효 기간이 10년 이상이 돼 범행 당시 공소시효가 완성되지 않은 것이 된다"며 "형사소추 가능성이 없다고 단정할 수 없다"고 판단했다.
이들은 지난해 12월 10일, 전 시장이 국회의원일 당시 부산 지역구 사무실에 대한 경찰의 압수수색이 예상되자 업무용 컴퓨터를 초기화하고 저장된 전자정보를 삭제했다. 또한 하드디스크(HDD)를 망치로 내려치고 저장장치(SSD)를 구부려 부순 뒤 각각 집 주변 밭과 부산의 한 목욕탕 쓰레기통에 버린 것으로 조사됐다.
피고인들은 이와 관련, 파손한 저장매체에는 의혹과 관련된 증거가 없어 증거인멸죄가 성립되지 않는다고 주장했다. 하지만 김 판사는 "전재수의 당시 일정과 미팅 내역 등 형사사건과 관련된 증거가 있었던 것으로 보인다"며 "설령 그러한 증거가 전재수의 형사사건에서 큰 증거 가치가 없다고 하더라도 대법원 판례에 따라 증거인멸죄 성립에는 아무런 영향이 없다"고 설명했다.
김 판사는 이어 "피고인들이 인멸한 증거와 관련된 형사 사건은 국회의원, 장관, 현재 광역지방자치단체장을 맡고 있는 정치인의 뇌물 수수와 관련된 것으로서 그 중요성이 매우 크다"며 "피고인들의 범행으로 국민들의 헌법상 알 권리가 중대하게 침해됐다"고 지적했다.
한편 통일교 금품수수 의혹에 연루된 민주당 인사에 대한 수사를 미룬 혐의로 민중기 특검팀이 고발됐으나, 고위공직자범죄수사처(공수처)는 전날 “혐의를 입증할 만한 증거가 확인되지 않았다”며 무혐의 처분했다. 그런데 정작 관련 증거를 없앤 전직 보좌진에게는 모두 유죄가 선고됐다.
경찰의 압수수색 과정도 논란을 일으켰다. 경찰은 지난해 12월 10일, 당시 전 의원의 지역구 사무실에 도착하고도 2시간 20분가량 경과한 후 압수수색에 나섰다. 이후 사건을 넘겨받은 검경 합동수사본부는 올 4월 전 시장에 대해 공소권 없음 처분을 내렸다. 하지만 전직 보좌진 4명은 증거인멸 혐의로 불구속 기소됐었다.
고법 “김승원 통해 청탁 명백”... 제넨셀 창업주 법정 구속
김승원 전 법무부 장관 후보자의 신약 청탁 의혹에 연루된 바이오기업 제넨셀 창업주 강 씨도 30일 2심 법원에 의해 법정 구속됐다. 재판부는 강 씨가 코로나19 치료제의 식품의약품안전처(식약처) 임상시험 계획 승인을 위해 김승원 더불어민주당 의원에게 청탁한 것이 명백하다고 판단한 것이다.
서울고법 형사7부 구회근 재판장은 이날 코로나19 치료제의 임상 계획 승인을 위해 불리한 실험 결과가 누락된 자료를 식품의약품안전처에 제출한 혐의(위계공무집행방해·업무방해) 및 특정경제범죄처벌법(배임·범죄수익은닉) 등 혐의로 기소된 강 씨의 항소심에서 징역 4년과 벌금 4000만원을 선고했다.
이 사건은 강 씨가 김 전 후보자를 통해 임상 계획 승인을 청탁하는 대가로 양 씨에게 약 6억원을 투자대금 형식으로 건넨 혐의도 포함된다. 이외에도 임상 계획 승인이라는 미공개 정보를 양 씨와 사전에 공유해 주가 상승에 따른 이익을 얻으려 하고, 자신이 운영하던 제넨셀 자금 약 10억원을 횡령한 혐의도 있다.
앞서 1심 재판부는 강 씨가 양 씨 회사에 6억원을 투자한 것이 배임은 맞다면서도, 그러나 이 돈이 김 의원을 통한 청탁·알선 대가로 단정하기 어렵다고 여겼다. 따라서 10억원대 배임 혐의는 물론, 범죄수익은닉 혐의에 대해서도 무죄로 판단하며, 강 씨에게 징역 3년에 집행유예 5년을 선고했으나, 2심 재판부가 이를 뒤집은 것이다.
이날 항소심 재판부는 “피고인이 김승원을 통해 식약처장에게 임상시험과 관련해서 청탁한 게 명백하고, 그 대가로 6억원이 지급된 것으로 보인다”며 “피고인은 그 과정에서 (양 씨 회사가 발행한) 전환사채 인수대금의 형식을 취해 정당하게 돈을 지급한 것처럼 가장했음을 인정할 수 있다”고 판시했다.
김 의원은 법무부장관 후보자로 지명된 이후 자신을 둘러싼 이러한 사실이 알려지자, 강 씨가 1심에서 범죄수익은닉 혐의에 대해 무죄를 선고받은 사실을 근거로 들며 “코로나 신약 불법청탁 의혹은 관련 판결문에서도 사실이 아님이 확인됐다”고 반박한 바 있다. 하지만 김 의원은 지난 19일 법무부장관 후보직에서 자진 사퇴했다.
* 필자 : 정성태(시인/칼럼니스트).
*아래는 위 기사를 '구글 번역'으로 번역한 영문 기사의 [전문]입니다. '구글번역'은 이해도 높이기를 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 영문 번역에 오류가 있을 수 있음을 전제로 합니다.<*The following is [the full text] of the English article translated by 'Google Translate'. 'Google Translate' is working hard to improve understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.>
Convictions Mount for Associates of Jeon Jae-soo and Kim Seung-won... Will Remaining Allegations Be Clarified?
- Columnist Jeong Seong-tae
All Former Aides to Jeon Jae-soo Found Guilty of Destroying Evidence Regarding Bribery Allegations; One Taken into Court Custody
On the 30th, a court of first instance found all four former aides to Jeon Jae-soo guilty of destroying evidence ahead of a police search and seizure operation. The investigation concerned allegations that Jeon—currently the Mayor of Busan—had accepted money and valuables from the Unification Church during his time as a National Assembly member.
Presiding Judge Kim Su-hong of the Busan District Court (Western Branch, Criminal Division 3) sentenced "A," a former senior secretary in his 50s, to one year in prison for destroying evidence and ordered him taken into court custody, citing a risk of flight. "B," a former Grade 4 aide in his 50s, received an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years, along with an order for 120 hours of community service. "C," a former Grade 8 secretary in his 30s, and "D," a former intern secretary in his 20s, were each fined 3 million won.
The allegations involve claims that Jeon received cash and a luxury watch worth between 30 million and 40 million won from the Unification Church. Last December, Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s World Headquarters, raised suspicions of a biased investigation during his own trial, stating, "I testified about these matters during the investigation by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team, yet no investigation has proceeded regarding the Democratic Party side." During the first trial, the former aides argued that the statute of limitations for the allegations regarding the former mayor's acceptance of money and valuables from the Unification Church had already expired; therefore, the charge of destruction of evidence could not be sustained. Judge Kim rejected this argument, ruling that "if an investigation reveals that the bribe amount accepted by Jeon Jae-soo exceeded 30 million won, the statute of limitations would extend to 10 years or more, meaning it had not yet expired at the time of the offense." The judge concluded, "It cannot be definitively stated that there was no possibility of criminal prosecution."
On December 10 of last year, anticipating a police raid on his Busan constituency office—dating back to his time as a National Assembly member—the defendants wiped the office computers and deleted stored electronic data. Investigations revealed that they smashed hard disk drives (HDDs) with a hammer and bent solid-state drives (SSDs) until they broke, subsequently discarding the debris in a field near their homes and a trash can at a bathhouse in Busan, respectively.
In their defense, the accused argued that the destroyed storage media contained no evidence related to the allegations, and thus the charge of destruction of evidence did not apply. However, Judge Kim explained, "It appears there was evidence relevant to the criminal case, such as Jeon Jae-soo's schedule and meeting records from that time." The judge added, "Even if such evidence held little evidentiary value for Jeon Jae-soo's criminal case, Supreme Court precedents establish that this has no bearing on the validity of the charge of destruction of evidence." Judge Kim further noted, "The criminal case linked to the evidence destroyed by the defendants involves allegations of bribery against politicians—including a National Assembly member, a government minister, and a current head of a metropolitan local government—making it a matter of great significance," adding that "the defendants' actions severely infringed upon the public's constitutional right to know."
Meanwhile, a special investigation team led by Min Joong-ki had faced accusations of delaying the investigation into a Democratic Party figure implicated in a bribery scandal involving the Unification Church; however, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) cleared them of the charges the previous day, stating that "no evidence substantiating the allegations was found." Ironically, the former aides who actually destroyed the relevant evidence were all found guilty.
The police's execution of the search and seizure also sparked controversy. On December 10 of last year, police officers waited approximately two hours and twenty minutes after arriving at the former lawmaker's district office before actually commencing the search. A joint police-prosecution investigation team, which subsequently took over the case, decided not to indict the former mayor this past April due to a lack of grounds for prosecution. However, four former aides were indicted without detention on charges of destroying evidence.
High Court Rules "Solicitation via Kim Seung-won Clear"... Genencell Founder Taken into Court Custody
On the 30th, the founder of the bio-venture company Genencell, identified by the surname Kang, was taken into court custody following an appellate court ruling; he had been implicated in allegations regarding the solicitation of a new drug-related favor involving former Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won. The court determined it was evident that Mr. Kang had solicited Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won to secure approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for a clinical trial plan for a COVID-19 treatment.
Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-geun of the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 7 sentenced Mr. Kang to four years in prison and a fine of 40 million won in the appellate trial. Mr. Kang had been indicted on charges including obstruction of the execution of official duties by deceit and obstruction of business—for submitting data that omitted unfavorable experimental results to the MFDS to gain approval for the clinical trial—as well as violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust and concealment of criminal proceeds).
The case also involves allegations that Mr. Kang handed approximately 600 million won to Mr. Yang—disguised as an investment—in exchange for soliciting clinical trial approval through the aforementioned lawmaker. Additionally, he was charged with attempting to profit from a rise in stock prices by sharing non-public information regarding the clinical trial approval with Mr. Yang in advance, and with embezzling approximately 1 billion won in funds from Genencell, the company he managed.
In the initial trial, the court acknowledged that Mr. Kang’s 600-million-won investment in Mr. Yang’s company constituted a breach of trust but concluded there was insufficient evidence to definitively characterize the money as payment for solicitation or mediation involving the lawmaker. Consequently, the lower court acquitted him of the breach-of-trust charge (regarding the 1 billion won) and the charge of concealing criminal proceeds, sentencing him to three years in prison suspended for five years; however, the appellate court overturned this ruling. On that day, the appellate court ruled, “It is evident that the defendant made a solicitation to the Minister of Food and Drug Safety regarding clinical trials through Kim Seung-won, and it appears that 600 million won was paid in return.” The court further stated, “It can be acknowledged that, during this process, the defendant disguised the payment as a legitimate transaction—specifically, the purchase price for convertible bonds issued by Mr. Yang’s company—to make it appear as though the money had been paid lawfully.”
After being nominated as a candidate for Minister of Justice and facing public scrutiny over these allegations, Rep. Kim had previously countered the claims by citing the fact that Mr. Kang was acquitted of charges regarding the concealment of criminal proceeds in the first trial, asserting that “the relevant court ruling confirmed that the allegations of illegal solicitation concerning a new COVID-19 drug were unfounded.” However, Rep. Kim voluntarily withdrew his candidacy for Minister of Justice on the 19th.
* Author: Jeong Seong-tae (Poet/Columnist)
