Last September, Supreme Porsecutors Office(SPO) investigated the ex-head of Military Mutual Aid Association(MMAA) and his son as they had received 30,000 stocks of Kenertec, a Korean Energy company, from its representative in response to securing investments from the MMAA.

Mr. Wonil Chung, a partner of Chung & Partners, represented the son and succeeded in making the SPO drop the charge and not prosecuting him.

Afterward, the SPO prosecuted only the ex-head of MMAA to the court, but last Friday, Seoul Central District Court sentenced not guilty stating there is no evidence that supports there had happened any illegal activities.

Under Korean Criminal Law, a person who, administering other’s business, receives property or obtains advantage from a 3rd party in response to an illegal solicitation concerning his duty, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 5 yeard or by a fine not exceeding 10 million won.

Established in 1984 as a special organization under the Ministry of National Defense, the MMAA administers assistance for military personnel and veterans. It has 160,000 members and its assets are valued at 7.8 trillion won ($5.94 billion).  The organization has seven businesses and recorded a total profit of 153.7 billion won last year.

This case had drawn big attentions within Korean society because of the MMAA’s powerful position in Korea’s financing & investment market and new government and SPO’s attempt to scrape out public enterprises’ corruption.  But at least in this case, the SPO seems not to free from its constraint investigation.

The SPO has appealed to the higher court.

The ex-head of MMAA was represented by Mr. Yong-Yeon Cho, a partner at Hwang, Mok, Park PC (HMP), with whom Mr. Wonil Chung had worked when he was an associate at HMP.  Mr. Yong-Yeon Cho is also famous as a Power Litigator who succesfully defended Mr. Paul Yoo, the ex-head of Lone Star Fund’s Korean office, in Lone Satr’s KEB stock price manipulating case.

© 2008 Wonil Chung, a Korean Criminal Lawyer/Chung & Partners, a Korean Criminal Law Firm.  All rights reserved. Some copyrights, photos, icons, trademarks, trade dress, or other commercial symbols that appear on this post are the property of the respective owners.