바카라쿠폰

1. Case Overview

a. Party Represented by Barun Law
A private medical practitioner (바카라쿠폰).

b. Background of the Case
The prosecution indicted the 바카라쿠폰 for violation of the Medical Service Act, determining that the 바카라쿠폰 had received rebates totaling KRW 27.62 million over 17 occasions from approximately February 2017 to June 2018 from employees of pharmaceutical companies.

c. Litigation Details
During the trial, the court focused primarily on the admissibility of evidence of written statements submitted during the investigation by the employees and pharmaceutical company personnel who were specified as having provided rebates to the 바카라쿠폰, as well as on whether the charged facts were sufficiently specified (i.e., whether the prosecution had sufficiently specified the dates and amounts on which the 바카라쿠폰 allegedly received money or valuables).


2. Judgment

The court acquitted the 바카라쿠폰.


3. Grounds for the Judgment

The court held that each of the written statements prepared by related persons could not be regarded as having been prepared outside the investigative process, and that no special circumstances guaranteeing credibility were recognized; therefore, such statements lacked evidentiary admissibility. As for the transcripts of recordings, the court found that not only did the defendants not consent to their use, but they also could not be regarded as having been prepared outside the investigative process, and thus could not be admitted as evidence. Accordingly, the court concluded that there was no admissible evidence proving the 바카라쿠폰's guilt.


4. Our Arguments and Role

During the trial, we conducted in-depth examinations of each related witness and persuasively argued that, in light of the circumstances under which the recordings, written statements, and statements made to investigative authorities were prepared, each piece of evidence lacked admissibility. We further argued that the charged facts themselves were not sufficiently specified because the dates and locations at which the pharmaceutical company employees allegedly visited the 바카라쿠폰 were not clearly identified.

The court accepted all of our arguments and acquitted the 바카라쿠폰.


5. Significance of the Judgment

This judgment reaffirmed that, under the rules of evidence, special circumstances guaranteeing credibility are required for hearsay evidence such as written statements prepared and submitted by third parties who are not the 바카라쿠폰 during the investigative stage, transcripts containing their statements, and statements made to investigative authorities to be granted evidentiary admissibility. As such, the ruling is expected to serve as an important precedent in future cases involving similar issues.


□ Attorneys in charge: Noh Man-kyeong, Lee Yun-sang