Former presidential chief of staff not found guilty of manipulating Sewol ferry report time to receive 7 million won criminal compensation

Kim Ki-choon, former Chief of Staff to the President, was found not guilty in connection with the "Sewol ferry report time manipulation allegations" and received 7 million won (approximately 740,000 yen) in criminal compensation from the state.
According to legal experts, on the 11th, the Seoul High Court ordered former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon to pay 7,071,000 won (approximately 750,000 yen) in compensation on the 6th.
This is due to the criminal compensation system, which compensates defendants who have been found innocent for damages incurred as a result of their detention and trial.
Kim Ki-choon, former Chief of Staff to the President, on April 16, 2014, the day of the Sewol ferry disaster.
In the first and second trials, the former Chief of Staff to the President Kim Ki-choon was found to have been a false official document and submitted to the National Assembly.
He was found not guilty and sentenced to one year in prison with two years of probation. However, in August 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the case, finding him not guilty, and sent it back to the Seoul High Court.
The court ruled that the written reply of the former Chief of Staff of the President was based on objective facts, and that some of the contents were subjective opinions.
The Supreme Court found the Chief of Staff of the President not guilty, and in June last year the Supreme Court rejected the prosecution's second appeal, resulting in his final acquittal.
He was sentenced to two years in prison for the "white list" scandal, but was pardoned in February and reinstated after the remainder of his sentence was waived. He also received a one-year prison sentence for illegally supporting conservative groups in the so-called "white list" scandal.
His rights were upheld, but he was reinstated through a New Year's amnesty last year.