
AI-generated summary
There is a suspicion that IMS Mobility, which was involved in Kim Ye-sung, known as the butler of First Lady Kim Kun-hee's family, received unfair investments from companies. The special prosecutor's team was unable to establish a connection between the investment and Ms. Kim and handed over the case to the police.
Cho Young-tak, CEO of IMS Mobility, who was indicted on charges of embezzlement of investment funds along with Kim Ye-seong, the 'butler' of first lady Kim Kun-hee's family, was found not guilty and the indictment dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Following Kim Ye-sung, CEO Cho was also cleared of the charges, effectively putting an end to the so-called 'Deacon Gate'.
On the 12th, the 2nd Division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Kwon Young-joon) dismissed the appeal of Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team in the case of CEO Cho's charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, breach of trust, and concealment of evidence under the Specific Economic Crimes Act and confirmed the original trial decision.
In 2023, CEO Cho Young-tak was indicted on charges of embezzlement of 3.5 billion won and breach of trust worth 3.2 billion won (embezzlement, breach of trust, etc. under the Special Police Act) in the process of IMS Mobility receiving investments from multiple companies and purchasing the company's old shares with part of the investment funds.
He was also accused of paying approximately 84 million won to a current reporter to write a favorable article about the company (breach of trust) and of instigating the concealment of a PC just before the search and seizure (instruction of concealment of evidence).
However, the first and second trials found CEO Cho not guilty on charges such as breach of trust and concealment of evidence, and dismissed the indictment, saying that charges of embezzlement and increased breach of trust were not subject to the special prosecutor's investigation.
Dismissal of indictment is a procedure to close a lawsuit without judging the substance of the case, such as when the indictment procedure violates the law.
The second trial court ruled, “If the special prosecutor independently investigated a case that was not the subject of investigation and filed an indictment without transferring it, the procedure is ineffective.”
On this day, the Supreme Court also dismissed the appeal, saying, "There was no error in the original judgment in misunderstanding the legal principles regarding the establishment of breach of trust under the Specific Economic Crimes Act and the subjects of investigation under the Special Prosecutor Kim Kun-hee Act."
Min, CEO of Oasis Equity Partners, a private equity fund management company, who was also brought to trial on charges of breach of trust, was also confirmed not guilty.
The decision to dismiss the indictment against Mr. Jeong, the spouse of Mr. Kim Ye-seong, who was indicted on charges of embezzlement, and Mr. Kang, a former economics reporter who is accused of receiving money from CEO Cho and writing favorable articles, was also upheld.
IMS Mobility Director Momosie was found guilty of concealing evidence and was sentenced to a fine of 7 million in the second trial.
Butler Gate is a suspicion that IMS Mobility, a rental car company founded by Kim Ye-seong, known as the butler of Mrs. Kim Kun-hee's family, received unfair investments of 18.4 billion won from companies such as Kakao Mobility, HS Hyosung, and Shinhan Bank based on Ms. Kim's influence.
The special prosecutor's team investigated that large corporations had provided insurance or compensation funds to IMS Mobility, which was in a state of capital erosion, in consideration of the close relationship between Mr. Kim and Mrs.
Those involved were indicted only on charges such as personal embezzlement that were unrelated to the Butlergate suspicion. As a result, controversy over the ‘separate investigation’ continued.
Kim Ye-seong, who was sent to trial on charges of embezzling company money, was found not guilty and the indictment dismissed by the Supreme Court in July, and CEO Cho received the same judgment on the same day, effectively ending Butler Gate.
The police special investigation headquarters also forwarded CEO Cho and Mr. Kim to the prosecution on charges of fraud (fraud) of defrauding investment companies and attracting large amounts of investment funds last June, without confirming their connection with Ms. Kim.

On the 20th, Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok's team submitted an opinion to the court, raising concerns about former Prime Minister Han Deok-soo's failure to appear in court and difficulties in determining his whereabouts upon his release when his detention period expires. Former Prime Minister Han is currently awaiting sentencing in the first trial of a separate trial.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that the performance bonus paid to a part-time teacher after the end of the contract should be reflected in the calculation of severance pay as it constitutes compensation for work prior to retirement.

A lawsuit filed by more than 300 bereaved families of the Sewol ferry disaster demanding the return of government compensation was dismissed in the appeals court. The court ruled that a hearing on the merits of the case could not be held because the compensation payment process had already ended.

The Supreme Court's appeal hearing on Busan Superintendent Kim Seok-jun, who was indicted on charges of abusing his authority during the special recruitment of dismissed teachers from the National Teachers and Education Workers Union, will be held at 10:15 a.m. on the 26th. The first trial declared him guilty, the second trial declared him not guilty, and the prosecution appealed due to a misunderstanding of the law.

Last July, in the Japanese House of Councilors election, the gap in one vote reached up to 3.13 times, which was ruled as an “unconstitutional state” for the first time by the Supreme Court. However, the claim to invalidate the election was dismissed.

On the 11th, fishermen who were abducted by North Korea visited the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and submitted an application to uncover the truth about the country's past abduction prevention and rescue measures. After their return, they urged a thorough investigation into not only state violence but also violations of the state's duty of protection at the time.