Bribery or sexual assault?

Lawyer Jung Chul-seung, representing a female suspect whom a prosecutor allegedly had sex with in return for favors in an investigation, speaks during a media briefing at his office in southern Seoul, Sunday. He said the prosecutor told the suspect, accused of theft, that she would otherwise get three years in prison. / Yonhap

Prosecutor faces arrest for having sex with suspect

A Supreme Prosecutors’ Office investigation team has sought an arrest warrant for a trainee prosecutor for allegedly having offered favorable treatment to a female suspect in return for sexual intercourse.

A member of the team said Sunday that they requested the warrant for the 30-year-old, surnamed Jeon, on “bribery” charges after detaining him Saturday as he might flee or destroy evidence.

Jeon is suspected of performing sexual acts with the 43-year-old suspect in his office earlier this month while questioning her in a theft case, and having sexual intercourse with her three days later at a motel.

“We detained him for accepting a bribe, and the bribe here didn’t mean money. We didn’t confirm any additional monetary kickback,” the team member said, indicating they regard sexual intercourse as a bribe in return for favors in the investigation.

According to the law, public officials are charged with bribery when receiving, demanding or getting promises to be offered kickbacks, such as money or entertainment. They are subject to a prison term for up to five years or a suspension of their qualification to hold a public post for up to 10 years. They can also be fired following a separate disciplinary action by their own offices.

The investigation team regarded the sexual relations as a type of entertainment.

On Nov. 10, Jeon questioned the woman at his office over allegations that she stole goods worth 4.5 million won ($4,145) from a discount store in eastern Seoul. They performed sexual acts there.

Three days later, they met and had sexual acts again in his car, and drove to a motel and had sexual intercourse.

Jeon claimed the first sexual acts took place unexpectedly while he was soothing the woman who appealed for leniency. He said she contacted him first three days later.

However, according to her lawyer Jung Chul-seung, Jeon told her that he could lower the penalty she would have to pay and gave his cell phone number to her.

“For a bribery charge to be applied to him, it has to be proved that the sexual intercourse was made in exchange for influence peddling, such as favors during the investigation,” a team member said.

The lawyer said the woman was a victim of sexual assault and the bribery charge should not be applied, as under the bribery charge, she will also be subject to punishment as a kickback provider.

“This case is a sexual assault through the abuse of authority. With the bribery charge, it can be misunderstood that she, the victim, offered sex to seek a favor,” Jung said in a media briefing at his office in southern Seoul, Sunday.

He said that during investigation, Jeon told her she might face three years in jail for the theft charge, indicating a threat. He also said on Nov. 10 they had not only sexual acts but also sex _ a claim which Jeon denies.

The team is also probing whether Jeon forcibly made her sign an agreement not to disclose what they did. The two said they signed a written agreement and he gave her money. Jeon claimed she demanded 50 million won, while her lawyer said she received a much smaller sum.

The team questioned the woman on Saturday, and raided Jeon’s office and car to secure evidence the next day before requesting a court to issue an arrest warrant for him. When a suspect is detained without a warrant, the prosecution has 48 hours to seek one or must then release them.

With the prosecution under mounting criticism for a series of corruption cases, including the sex scandal and a senior prosecutor’s bribe-taking, an incumbent prosecutor demanded reform in an article he posted on the prosecution’s intranet with his name _ the first real-name posting since the cases emerged, while there have been hundreds of anonymous ones.

Prosecutor Yun Dae-hae of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said, “I can’t say no to people who criticize the prosecution. In many cases, I myself doubted whether prosecutors’ investigations were conducted according to the law and principle independent from political and business influences.”

He suggested several reform measures. “To limit the prosecution’s monopoly on indictment, citizens should be encouraged to participate in deciding on an indictment in cases involving political heavyweights. In ordinary criminal cases, we should have the police take charge.”

Yun also proposed the prosecution have a regular team to deal with corruption involving prosecutors. <The Korea Times/Kim Rahn>