Received a contract by abusing the mid-term direct production system and sentenced to 70 lashes for bribing a public official

(Cheonan = Yonhap News) Reporter Yoo Eui-joo = The company representative was sentenced to prison for abusing the system that allows products directly produced by small and medium-sized businesses to enter into private contracts with local public institutions to obtain contracts for public institutions and offering bribes to public officials.

On the 19th, the Cheonan Branch Criminal Division 1 of the Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Cho Young-jin) sentenced Mr. A (74), who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Purchase of Small Business Products and Sales Support, to three years in prison.

Two company executives indicted on the same charges were sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and 1 year and 6 months in prison, respectively, and the remaining person was sentenced to 1 year in prison and 2 years probation.

Mr. A, the CEO of a company that manufactures waterproofing materials for waste landfills, tunnels, and underground structures, was put on trial on charges of making unfair profits by deceiving products produced at the Cheonan factory as being produced by a subsidiary in Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do and obtaining private contracts in the region.

In this way, he delivered materials worth 10 billion won to public institutions such as local governments over a 10-year period from 2015 to 2024.

In the process, a slush fund of 1.7 billion won was created and bribes were provided to local government officials and public institution employees.

A former public official, Mr. B (57), who received bribes from them, and one other public official were also sentenced to 3 years in prison and 2 years and 6 months, respectively, and one public institution employee was sentenced to 6 months in prison and 2 years of probation.

The court ruled, "Although the crime was committed systematically and repeatedly over a long period of time, it was neglected in the name of custom or tolerated for the company's benefit. However, the sentence was determined based on the fact that there was no actual damage to the demand agency and that no misconduct was confirmed in return for bribes."