Seoul City government official arrested for accepting bribes.

A former department head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, referred to as Mr. A, was reportedly caught in an Audit Board inspection for receiving tens of millions of won worth of money and entertainment from the CEO of a company that won contracts for projects he was responsible for.

This is what is known as bribery by a public official, commonly referred to as accepting a bribe.

So, how would the sentences above be translated into English and Vietnamese?
Usually, I tend to explain things in a more straightforward way so that they translate well.

But suroe죄 is one of those terms that just doesn’t translate neatly no matter how you put it.

Situation	Applicable offense
A current public official receives a bribe related to his official duties	Bribery by a public official (Article 129 of the Criminal Act)
After retirement, receiving a bribe under certain conditions in connection with an offense committed while in office	Post-retirement bribery (Article 131, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Act) may apply
A company executive provides a bribe to a public official	Bribery of a public official (Article 133 of the Criminal Act)

The distinction between bribery by a public official and post-retirement bribery is, as shown in the table, based on when the benefit was received.

If the bribe was received, the favor was provided in return, and the entire process took place before retirement, it falls under bribery by a public official.
(Simply requesting the bribe may also be enough to constitute the offense.)

If the benefit was received after retirement, it may instead constitute post-retirement bribery.
(Likewise, merely requesting it may be enough to incur criminal liability.)

If these two offenses are intended to punish the person who received the benefit,

bribery of a public official
is an offense intended to punish the person who provided the benefit.
(Even making an agreement to provide the bribe may constitute the offense.)

Mr. A retired from his position in June 2026,
but since he received the benefits while he was still in office,

the question will be whether bribery by a public official applies.

So, let’s take a closer look at what he received, how he received it, and why.

There were quite a few relatively small amounts involved, and it was a bit complicated, so I put everything into a table.

Messages / conversations	Actual benefits provided	Subsequent related duties
January 2025 — The company CEO suggested that Mr. A spend a day at a hotel in Incheon with his mother. Mr. A replied, “Thank you, bro!”	880,000 won for one night at a hotel in Incheon	A 240 million won service contract was subsequently awarded to the company
May 2025 — The company CEO handed Mr. A a corporate credit card and said, “Don’t feel burdened. The limit is 2 million won per month. You don’t have to worry about it at all.”	Mr. A used the corporate card 51 times, spending a total of 21.03 million won for personal purposes	A 1.04 billion won supply contract was subsequently awarded to the company
After the company won a contract, the CEO sent a message to the effect of, “It feels like much-needed rain… Thank you for giving us this opportunity.”	—	Mr. A approved and managed business contracts involving the company
December 2025 — After learning that Mr. A’s child had been accepted to university, the company CEO messaged, “When we meet early next year, I’ll give you a MacBook.”	MacBook Pro worth 3.78 million won, actually provided in January 2026	Mr. A subsequently reviewed and approved documents related to the completion inspection of a project carried out by the company
The company CEO provided hotel accommodations on the grounds that they would be a good experience for Mr. A’s children	2.68 million won for two nights at a hotel in Seoul	Mr. A continued to oversee and manage the company’s Seoul Metropolitan Government projects

880,000 + 21,030,000 + 680,000 + 2,680,000 + 3,780,000 = 29.05 million won

It was also revealed that the corporate card was used to purchase luxury goods, a gold necklace, and other items.

Hmm… it’s an amount that makes you wonder whether it’s really that much.
But it’s certainly not the kind of thing you can just brush off by saying, “Well, let’s let this one slide.”

I’ve been seeing headlines about amounts in the hundreds of millions of won almost every day lately,
so perhaps that’s why seeing an amount in the tens of millions of won makes it seem relatively small…

Still, the value of what the company received in return does reach into the hundreds of millions of won.

For bribery by a public official, the amount does not determine whether the offense exists.
If it is a bribe related to official duties, even 10,000 won can potentially result in criminal liability for bribery.

So, let’s see which bracket Mr. A falls into.

Amount of bribe	Applicable provision
Less than 30 million won	Generally subject to the basic offense of bribery under the Criminal Act
30 million won or more ~ less than 50 million won	At least 5 years of imprisonment
50 million won or more ~ less than 100 million won	At least 7 years of imprisonment
100 million won or more	Life imprisonment or at least 10 years of imprisonment

It kind of feels like one of those “Just 39,900 won!” deals.
He’s short by 950,000 won.

I wonder if AI would translate this like Costco’s “$29.99.”
Sometimes AI gets a little awkward with these kinds of things.

Anyway,

Sure enough, he falls into the lowest bracket.
So the feeling that the amount seems a little low
wasn’t entirely unfounded after all.

As of now,
Mr. A retired from his position in June 2026,
so disciplinary action by the Seoul Metropolitan Government is no longer possible.

The Audit Board reportedly referred the case to prosecutors, and the case is currently at the prosecution investigation stage.

There has also been no report that the company’s existing contracts with the Seoul Metropolitan Government have been terminated.
However, the authorities are reportedly preparing measures such as restrictions on the company’s eligibility to participate in future bids.

We’ll have to wait for further developments.

It feels a little unsatisfying to end things here,


so let’s take a look at China, where you’ve probably heard that a public official who accepts a bribe can even face the death penalty.

First, 29.06 million won ÷ 190 ≈ 153,000 yuan

So that’s about 150,000 yuan, right?

China’s punishment structure for bribery by public officials

Amount of bribe	Basic punishment criteria
30,000 yuan or more ~ less than 200,000 yuan	Up to 3 years’ imprisonment or criminal detention + fine
200,000 yuan or more ~ less than 3 million yuan	3 to 10 years’ imprisonment + fine or confiscation of property
3 million yuan or more	10 years or more of imprisonment, life imprisonment, or the death penalty + fine/confiscation of property

Oh… so they’re really the nation of guanxi.
The minimum amount doesn’t start at 0 yuan.

It starts at 30,000 yuan.

So, does that mean criminal punishment might not apply below that amount?

Even in China’s system,
Mr. A would still fall into the lowest bracket.

And then,
the death penalty at the very top certainly catches the eye.

For reference, when it comes to death sentences for bribery in China,
they don’t necessarily send you straight to the execution chamber.

Under the system known as “death sentence with a two-year reprieve” (死刑缓期二年执行),
the sentence is initially suspended for two years.
After that,
there are quite a few cases in which the sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.

One of the most famous cases is that of a former Communist Party secretary of Guizhou Province,
who made headlines over allegations of accepting 160 billion won (800 million yuan) in bribes.

I believe he was also sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.

For reference, China also has a system under which a person who takes the initiative by demanding a bribe can receive a harsher punishment.

Hmm…
But
if everything changes to AI,
what are you supposed to bribe an AI with?