Justice for Sale: Incumbent Indonesian Prosecutors Took Cash from Korean Defendants

[Editor's Note] This article details a blatant bribery and extortion case committed by prosecutors from the Banten High Prosecutor's Office in Indonesia against Korean and local defendants. The incumbent prosecutors extorted massive amounts of money from defendants accused of violating the Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE), threatening them by saying, "In Indonesia, if you don't have money, even innocent people go to jail". However, as the scene of the cash delivery was entirely recorded on video, three incumbent prosecutors and others were urgently arrested by the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). This article was reconstructed based on Indonesian prosecution statements, evidence submitted to the KPK, and interviews with sources.

On March 10, 2025, in a large conference room of a company in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, a man wearing a blue Batik (traditional dyed fabric from Indonesia and Malaysia) shirt accepted a yellow bag across the table.

“Terima Kasih (Thank you)”.

The man's name is Redy Zulkarnain, an Indonesian who is an incumbent prosecutor. He serves as the Head of the Criminal Justice Information Management Division at the Banten High Prosecutor's Office. 

The yellow bag Redy received was heavy, containing 7,000 red 100,000 Rupiah bills. The total amounted to 700 million Rupiah, which is approximately 60 million Korean Won. 

The person who brought this yellow bag from outside the conference room and handed it over was a Korean national, Kim Myung-guk (alias). Why did he, a company operator in Indonesia, hand over a large sum of money to an incumbent prosecutor?

"This is Indonesia. If you don't have money, you cannot pull strings to get an acquittal. Unlike Korea, you need money for everything in Indonesia. If you do not meet my demands, you will go to jail. Here, an innocent person can become a criminal, and vice versa."

Kim had heard these words from Redy. This happened after Natalia (alias) and Choi Ki-hoon (alias), employees of Kim's Indonesian company, were indicted for violating Indonesia's Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE). It was unclear whether this was a threat or advice.

Natalia and Choi were sued by their former employer after resigning, accused of accessing the former workplace's computer and electronic systems to illegally copy data that should not be distributed. This occurred in June 2023. This UU ITE violation case was forwarded by the police to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.

In February 2025, the prosecutor assigned to this case demanded money from the very beginning. An incumbent prosecutor named Rivaldo Valini asked for 200 million Rupiah (about 17 million KRW), claiming he could prevent Natalia and Choi from going to prison right from the prosecution's investigation stage. To protect his employees, Kim handed over 200 million Rupiah to Rivaldo over two days on February 12 and 14, 2025.

Redy, the man in the blue Batik shirt, is Rivaldo's senior prosecutor. Rivaldo personally introduced his senior to the defendants. From their very first meeting, Redy demanded money in exchange for acquitting Natalia and Choi. He initially asked for 2 billion Rupiah, which is about 170 million KRW. When Kim and the defendants said it was impossible, Redy lowered the 'price of innocence' to 1.3 billion Rupiah.

"We agreed to hand over the money under the condition that giving a 700 million Rupiah down payment would secure an acquittal in the first trial, which would then allow us to bypass the second trial and go straight to the Supreme Court. We would then give 300 million Rupiah at the start of the Supreme Court trial, and the remaining 300 million Rupiah as a success fee upon a final acquittal from the Supreme Court," Kim explained.

Redy personally introduced a lawyer, stating that all the funds paid by the defendants would be used for lawyer fees and to control the prosecutors and judges. Kim, along with defendants Natalia and Choi, followed this instruction.

"It was a proposal that was completely unbelievable for Koreans, but we were both shocked and terrified by an incumbent prosecutor's threat that both would go to prison if we didn't spend the money, so after discussing it among ourselves, we decided to accept Redy's demands," Kim said.

As promised with Redy, on March 10, 2025, in the company conference room, Kim handed over the 'first down payment' of 700 million Rupiah in a yellow bag while everyone was present. A total of seven people were at this meeting: Kim, Redy, the lawyer Didik introduced by Redy, an interpreter named Angelica (alias), Natalia, Natalia's husband, and Choi Ki-hoon.

Their meeting was entirely recorded in a 2-hour, 38-minute, and 4-second video. This was thanks to a video conferencing camera left on in the conference room. This video was played as key evidence in court.

"We (the defendants) were aware this video was being recorded, but the other party was not. When the presiding judge asked how we managed to capture this video, I explained that I instructed an employee to press the record button, and the judge gave a big thumbs-up, saying 'good job,'" Kim recalled.

The case of an incumbent prosecutor receiving a 60-million KRW bundle of cash from foreign defendants became known to the world when it was reported to the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). On December 17, 2025, a total of nine people, including Redy, three incumbent prosecutors, one lawyer, and one interpreter, were urgently arrested by the KPK.

The scene of the three corrupt prosecutors being arrested by the anti-corruption agency made headlines in the Indonesian media. While corrupt prosecutors being caught by the anti-corruption agency is not new in Indonesia, this is the first case of bribery by extortion targeting Koreans.

Why did Kim and the defendants wait until November to notify the KPK, rather than immediately after giving the money to Redy in March 2025?. It was because the financial demands continued even after handing over 200 million Rupiah to the first prosecutor, Aldo (Rivaldo), and 700 million Rupiah to the second prosecutor, Redy.

"Redy said that because the trial process was prolonging, many expenses were being incurred and more lawyer fees were needed, so he asked for a portion of the remaining 300 million Rupiah balance," Kim stated.

However, Redy's demands did not end there. In September 2025, Redy claimed that since the trial was proceeding unfavorably for Natalia and Choi, they needed to give 500 million Rupiah (about 42 million KRW) to another prosecutor handling the case, Malda Ksatria, to lower the sentence as much as possible. Once again, they were told the two defendants would eventually go to prison if they didn't pay. On September 30, 2025, Kim handed 500 million Rupiah in cash to Malda.

Redy, who had received the 700 million Rupiah in the yellow bag in March 2025, continuously demanded money using the exact same pattern: claiming the situation was unfavorable for the defendants and that more money was needed.

Over six months, the defendants distributed 1.4 billion Rupiah (about 120 million KRW) to three prosecutors, but the case remained at a standstill. There was not even a glimpse of a potential acquittal in the first trial, and the first instance sentencing alone was delayed six times. At this point, Kim believed that all the promises made with the prosecutors had been broken. As the possibility of an acquittal decreased while the prosecutors continually demanded money, Kim's lawyer recommended reporting the situation to the KPK.

"In late November 2025, we had our first unofficial meeting with the KPK. Natalia, Choi Ki-hoon, and I met with them for several hours, showing various pieces of evidence and explaining the situation. The KPK seemed to judge that this was sufficient," Kim stated.

After Kim and the others contacted the KPK investigators, Redy suddenly reached out to Kim requesting to meet. Meeting at a park on the outskirts of Jakarta on November 30, 2025, Redy asked Kim's group to switch their smartphones to airplane mode.

Redy then stated he suspected the plaintiff's side had reported to the KPK after giving money to the prosecutor. He demanded that if the Supreme Prosecutor's Office's inspection department investigated the matter, Kim should state that he had already been refunded, as Redy would return the 700 million Rupiah he had received from the defendants. Redy attempted to destroy evidence by colluding to falsely claim he had never received the money.

Kim and the defendants reported all of these details to the KPK. Afterward, the defendants actually received a call from the Supreme Prosecutor's Office inspection department telling them to come and collect the money. When Kim reported this news, the KPK decided to arrest Redy at the scene where he was returning the money to the defendants.

At around 3 PM on December 17, 2025, Kim and the others met Redy at the Supreme Prosecutor's Office inspection room and received 940 million Rupiah in cash back. Counting the cash and writing a confirmation receipt took a long time.

Then the KPK stepped in. Ten investigators conducted an emergency arrest of Redy, the lawyer Didik introduced by Redy, the interpreter Angelica who mediated the deal, as well as the defendants Kim, Natalia, and Choi Ki-hoon, bringing the entire case to the world's attention.

The trial for this case, where incumbent High Prosecutor's Office prosecutors Rivaldo, Redy, and Malda received bribes from the defendants they were prosecuting, began on April 28. Shortly after the case was submitted to the KPK, defendants Natalia and Choi Ki-hoon were sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 300 million Rupiah for violating the UU ITE, a ruling that was upheld in their appeal. Natalia and Choi Ki-hoon are both currently awaiting their Supreme Court trial while detained in custody.

Reporting Seulki Lee skidolma@thedunia.org