'Corona response controversy' Former Wuhan mayor sentenced to 14 years in prison for accepting 12 billion won in bribes

The fine was also 1 billion won... For 22 years, he received a large amount of money in exchange for convenience in obtaining construction orders and permits.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kwon Sook-hee = The former mayor of Wuhan, China, who was controversial for his lax response in the early stages of the spread of COVID-19, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for receiving a bribe worth about 12 billion won.

According to China Central Television (CCTV) on the 12th, the Intermediate People's Court of Shangqiu City, Henan Province, sentenced former Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang to 14 years in prison and a fine of 5 million yuan (about 1 billion won) on charges of bribery in the first trial on the 10th.

In addition, the recovered criminal proceeds will be returned to the national treasury in accordance with the law, and the amount that has not yet been recovered will continue to be collected.

It was revealed that former Mayor Zhou Xianwang received a total of 60.5 million yuan (approximately 12.08 billion won) in bribes from 2003 to 2025 in return for using his official authority to provide convenience to related organizations and individuals in terms of construction orders, corporate management, and administrative licensing.

The court explained that the amount of bribery was so large that he should be punished according to the law, but that it took into account the fact that he voluntarily stated most of the bribery facts that the investigative agency could not identify and the fact that he actively returned the proceeds of crime.

In January this year, China's highest regulatory body, the Central Discipline Commission of the Communist Party and the State Supervision Commission (Discipline Supervision Commission), found that he had seriously violated integrity discipline, committed serious job-related misconduct, and was suspected of accepting bribes. Accordingly, he was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office.

He was criticized for his inadequate initial response when COVID-19 spread in Wuhan, where he served as mayor from 2018 to 2021.

In particular, he came under intense pressure to resign for allowing over 40,000 households to attend the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) event in January 2020 amid the rapid spread of COVID-19.

He acknowledged that there were problems with the quarantine response at the time and expressed his intention to take responsibility, but he maintained his position as mayor and moved to the position of vice-chairman of the CPPCC of Hubei Province in January 2021, serving until 2023.