In 2014, after reaching a settlement with a South Korean firm accused of paying bribes for Army contracts, U.S. Justice Department prosecutors headed to court to ask a federal judge to sign off on the agreement.

On that July morning, they were met with skepticism from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who was then a 20-year veteran of Washington’s federal trial court. In a hearing that stretched into the afternoon, Sullivan questioned the “fundamental fairness” of the Justice Department’s deal with Saena Tech Corp., a deferred prosecution agreement under which prosecutors would drop the case if the company paid a $500,000 penalty, took steps to avoid future misconduct and cooperated with the government. But Sullivan seemed particularly struck by how the agreement extended what he termed a “sweetheart deal” for the firm’s founder, Jin Seok Kim, sparing him from criminal charges in spite of his admitted involvement in a bribery scheme that resulted in years-long prison terms for several others.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]