The defendant shall be innocent.

A. Error of mistake

It is before March 9, 2004, which is the date of public announcement of the election of the President of the National Forestry Cooperatives of Hongcheon-gun, that the defendant provided the non-indicted 1 with one gold cleaning machine to the non-indicted 1.

B. Legal principles

Electors referred to in Articles 132(1) and 40(1)1 of the Forestry Cooperatives Act shall be determined on the date of public announcement. Since the Defendant provided the representatives with an advanced cleaning system on or before March 9, 2004, the date of public announcement of the instant election day, the Defendant cannot be said to have violated the Forestry Cooperatives Act.

C. Unreasonable sentencing

The sentence imposed by the court below against the defendant is too unreasonable.

2. Summary of the facts charged in this case and the judgment of the court below

A. Summary of the facts charged in this case

The Defendant, who worked as a standing director of the Hongcheon-gun Forestry Cooperatives from May 20, 200 to March 8, 2004, had a person who had been working as a standing director of the Hongcheon-gun Forestry Cooperatives, had no person provide any goods, etc. to any elector for the purpose of getting him or any specific person to be elected as an executive officer or representative of a cooperative. However, he or she did not provide any goods, etc. to any elector for the purpose of being elected, in an election for the head of the Hongcheon-gun Forestry Forestry Cooperatives established on March 23, 2004;

On March 3, 2004, at the house of Non-Indicted 2, the representative of the Hongcheon-gun Forestry Cooperatives located in the Geumcheon-gun, Hongcheon-gun (detailed address omitted), Non-Indicted 2 provided the above non-Indicted 2 with an amount equivalent to 35,00 won at the market price of the Jincheon-gun for the purpose of winning the election at the election of the head of the above association, and provided 18 representatives from March 3, 2004 to March 12, 2004 with an amount equivalent to 35,000 won at each market price of the Jincheon-gun-gun, as shown in attached Table 1.

B. The judgment of the court below

In light of the evidence submitted by the prosecutor, the court below rejected the Defendant’s assertion of the misapprehension of the legal principles on the grounds that the Defendant, as recorded in the facts charged, provides that “A person qualified to be recorded in the elector’s list before the preparation of the elector’s list” can also be the elector before the public notice of the election day, on the grounds that the Defendant may be deemed to be the elector, on the same date and time as indicated in the facts charged, and furthermore, Article 7 of the Hongcheon-gun National Forestry Cooperatives Articles (e.g., Annex 26, 200) provides that

3. Judgment of the court below

A. Error of mistake

On March 12, 2004 and March 13, 2004, the defendant made a statement corresponding to the facts charged in this case, stating that "the defendant had a dust cleaning machine to the non-indicted 1, who was submitted by the prosecutor as evidence corresponding to the fact that he had delivered the dust cleaning machine to the non-indicted 1, and the non-indicted 1's public prosecutor's statement as to the non-indicted 1, who was submitted by the public prosecutor, and the non-indicted 1, who was the public prosecutor's office as of March 12, 2004 and March 13, 2004." However, the police officer stated that "the non-indicted 1, 204, the defendant had no dust cleaning machine to the non-indicted 3 before the public prosecutor's statement and the non-indicted 1, 204's new statement to the non-indicted 3's public prosecutor's representative, and there is no reason to acknowledge that the non-indicted 1, 3000's new statement to the public prosecutor's statement and the non-indicted 1.

B. Legal principles

(1) Article 40(1)1 of the former Forestry Cooperatives Act (amended by Act No. 7278 of Dec. 31, 2004; hereinafter “Act”) provides that no person shall offer, express his/her intent to offer, or promise to offer money, goods, entertainment, other property benefits, or public or private positions to an elector for the purpose of preventing him/herself or a specific person from being elected or elected as an executive officer or representative of the cooperative. Article 132(1) of the Act provides that a forestry cooperative shall punish its violation of its articles of association and majority in its internal operation, and thus, an autonomous organization established by the association’s articles of association pursuant to the provisions of the articles of association shall be legally effective as well as its articles of association, if it does not provide an analogical interpretation of Article 130(1)1 of the Act on the election day of an elector, and therefore, Article 132(1)4 of the Act on the Election of Goods shall only be construed as an annex 10 of the Act on the election day of an elector.

(2) According to the evidence duly adopted and examined by the court below, Article 62 (3) of the Articles of Incorporation of the Hongcheon-gun Forestry Cooperatives provides that "the matters necessary for the election and recommendation of executive officers shall be governed by the Rules on Election of Executive Officers of the Annex", and Article 6 (1) of the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperatives (e.g., the articles of incorporation and executive officers of the Association shall have the right to constitute a general meeting under Article 39 (2) of the Articles of Incorporation (where a meeting of representatives is selected by the board of representatives, the members of the board of representatives under Article 51 (2) of the Articles of Incorporation) as of the date of public announcement of the election, and the head of the association shall prepare a elector's list within three days from the date of public announcement of the election." Article 11 provides that "The head of the association shall publicly announce the executive, elector, election day and place to be elected at the principal office from 14 days before the election day, the candidate, candidate registration receipt place, candidate registration period, and other necessary matters."

For the same reason, as indicated in the above facts charged, the defendant's offering of goods to representatives during the period from March 3, 2004 to March 6, 2004, which was the date of public announcement of the election of the head of the cooperative of Hongcheon-gun Forestry Cooperatives (including persons eligible for the electoral register before the preparation of the electoral register), as stated in Article 40 (1) 1 of the Act, does not constitute the offering of goods as provided in Article 40 (1) 1 of the Act (Article 7 (1) of the above Code). However, the court below did not err in the misapprehension of legal principles as to money, valuables, entertainment, or other property benefits, or the offering of goods to the non-indicted 1 at least before March 9, 2004. The court below did not err in the misapprehension of legal principles as to the offering of goods, or in the misapprehension of legal principles as to the provision of goods to the non-indicted 1.

4. Conclusion

Therefore, since the defendant's appeal is well-grounded, the judgment of the court below is reversed under Article 364 (6) of the Criminal Procedure Act without examining the defendant's argument of unfair sentencing, and it is again decided as follows.

The summary of the facts charged in this case is the same as that of the above 2-A, and as examined in the above 3-A, the facts charged in this case constitutes a case where there is no proof of facts charged, and thus, the defendant is acquitted under the latter part of Article 325 of the Criminal Procedure Act

Judges Haak-gu et al. (Presiding Judge)