Defendant shall be punished by imprisonment with prison labor for ten months and by a fine of twenty thousand won. If the Defendant fails to pay the above fine, the Defendant shall be confined in the workhouse for a period calculated by converting 100,000 won into one day.

18,000,000 won shall be additionally collected from the defendant.

The punishment (one year of imprisonment, fine 36,00,000 won and penalty surcharge) imposed on the accused by the court below is too unreasonable.

2. Determination

The crime of this case is deemed to have been accepted a bribe from an enterprise closely related to the business even though the defendant had a duty to perform his duties in an integrity and fair manner as a tax official belonging to the court below. The amount of bribe received over three occasions is very serious. The crime of this case is deemed to have a significant damage to the fairness and adequacy of official duties and the trust of the general society. However, it is recognized that there is a need to strictly punish such a crime, but the defendant is against the crime of this case, and there is no other criminal records other than that sentenced to a fine of one million won due to the violation of the Road Traffic Act of 1998, the defendant has been serving as a public official in good faith for twenty years; the defendant's health was not good; the defendant's wife's age, environment, personality and behavior, motive for the crime of this case; and the records and circumstances before and after the crime of this case are considered to be unfair.

3. Conclusion

Therefore, the defendant's appeal is justified, and the judgment of the court below is reversed pursuant to Article 364 (6) of the Criminal Procedure Act, and it is decided as follows.

Criminal facts and summary of evidence

The summary of the facts constituting an offense and evidence recognized by this court is identical to the statement of each corresponding column of the judgment below, and thus, it is cited in accordance with Article 369 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

Application of Statutes

1. Article relevant to the facts constituting an offense and the selection of punishment;

Article 129 (1) of the Criminal Code, Selection of Imprisonment

2. Imposition of fines concurrently;

Article 2(2) of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes

3. Aggravation for concurrent crimes; and

Articles 37 (former part), 38 (1) 2, and 50 of the Criminal Act

4. Discretionary mitigation;

Articles 53 and 55(1)3, 6, and 55(1)3 of the Criminal Act;

Articles 70(1) and 69(2) of the Criminal Act

6. Additional collection:

Article 134 of the Criminal Act

The sentence shall be determined as per Disposition on the same grounds as the Defendant’s statement on the Defendant’s assertion of unfair sentencing prior to the grounds of sentencing.

Judges Park Chang-chul

Judges Kang Jin-jin