Noh Woong-rae, 'not guilty of bribery', confirmed to be fined for disclosing businessman's criminal record

Appears at trial for bribery case and remarks '16 criminal convictions'... Fine: 700,000 won

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Mi-ryeong = Former lawmaker Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was found not guilty in a bribery case after the prosecution abandoned its appeal, was sentenced to a fine for disclosing the criminal history of a businessman who was pointed out as a bribe giver.

According to the legal community on the 11th, the 3rd Division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Eom Sang-pil) confirmed on the 1st the lower court's decision to dismiss the appeal, which sentenced former lawmaker Roh, who was indicted on charges of defamation, to a fine of 700,000 won.

In May 2023, former lawmaker Noh attended the first trial on charges of bribery and other charges, and was put on trial on charges of defaming Mr. Park by saying, "The prosecution is only listening to the words of a person with 16 criminal convictions and is framing me as a criminal," in response to Mr. Park, who was pointed out as a donor and was being tried together.

The first and second trials found him guilty of defamation and sentenced him to a fine of 700,000 won.

In May of this year, the second trial court pointed out, "The defendant claims that there was no intention to defame him and that the illegality disappears as his remarks were in the public interest. However, in order to point out the unfairness of the prosecution's disposition, there was no need to reveal the informant's criminal record beyond the counterargument to the facts of the indictment."

The suspicion of bribery and other charges is that former lawmaker Noh received a total of 60 million won on five occasions from Mr. Park between February and December 2020 in the name of arranging logistics center licensing and providing convenience for power plant supply projects and solar power generation projects.

Former lawmaker Noh was acquitted in both the first and second trials of this case, and his acquittal was confirmed last August when the prosecution gave up on appealing.