‘법카 유용’ 혐의 유시춘 전 EBS 이사장 1심 무죄

Former EBS President 유시춘 was acquitted by a first-instance court in a case involving the alleged misuse of a corporate credit card for personal expenses totaling approximately 19.6 million won. Judge 최동환 of the 고양지원 형사6단 ruled that 유 did not commit any wrongdoing. The prosecution had previously secured a one-year prison sentence for 유.

The prosecution argued that 유 used 235 out of 813 business expense cases for personal reasons. However, the court found that 유 provided insufficient justification for the use of funds in some cases or when dealing with related parties, indicating the possibility of personal use. Despite the fact that 유 mentioned the names of attendees and reasons for expenses during the trial, the court noted that most fact-checking was not conducted outside of the EBS internal team.

Judge 최 reminded that requiring the defendant to present evidence of personal use along with the presented justification could violate basic principles of the prosecutor's evidentiary responsibility. He also stated that it would be difficult to definitively conclude that 유 committed a breach of duty due to the presence of some questionable circumstances.

The court concluded that there is not enough evidence to confirm the case based solely on the prosecution's submission. This case gained momentum after the National Ethics Committee submitted evidence in March 2024, alleging that 유 had improperly used approximately 17 million won in business expense funds.