United States v. Jong Sung Kim

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 24, 2022
Docket21-12406
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Jong Sung Kim (United States v. Jong Sung Kim) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Jong Sung Kim, (11th Cir. 2022).

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 21-12406 Date Filed: 08/24/2022 Page: 1 of 18

[DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 21-12406 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JONG SUNG KIM,

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 1:13-cr-00379-TCB-AJB-3 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 21-12406 Date Filed: 08/24/2022 Page: 2 of 18

2 Opinion of the Court 21-12406

Before LUCK, BRASHER, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Jong Sung “John” Kim appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for a new trial based on new evidence that the govern- ment failed to disclose. Kim claims that the failure to disclose vio- lated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) and Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972), requiring a new trial. He also argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his requests for a new trial and for discovery and an evidentiary hearing into the nondisclosure. Because the failure to disclose was not a Brady or Giglio violation and the district court didn’t abuse its discretion in denying the requests for a new trial, discovery, and a hearing, we affirm. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

We described the facts and procedural history of this case when we affirmed Kim’s convictions. United States v. Kim, 823 F. App’x 804 (11th Cir. 2020). Kim was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion and three counts of aid- ing and abetting in Hobbs Act extortion—on December 16, 2009, and January 13 and 21, 2010—in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 1951(a). Id. at 805–06. Ultimately, the jury acquitted Kim of the conspiracy count and the December 2009 count and convicted him of the January 2010 counts. Id. at 806. USCA11 Case: 21-12406 Date Filed: 08/24/2022 Page: 3 of 18

21-12406 Opinion of the Court 3

Kim was part of a “protection” scheme run by Yoo Jin “Eu- gene” Chung. Id. In July 2009, Chung, Kim, and others “demanded a monthly share of the profits of” the Gah Bin Korean bar and res- taurant from the owner, Yoon Soo Lee, in exchange for Chung’s promise “to refrain from, and to deter others from, physically as- saulting [Lee], harassing his customers and employees, and damag- ing the business.” Id. Lee started making monthly protection pay- ments right away. Id. After Lee missed a payment, Chung, Kim, and three others visited him at Gah Bin on December 16, 2009. Id. Chung pointed a gun at Lee’s head and threatened to kill him; another member of the group punched Lee in the face, breaking his nose; and then Chung pistol-whipped Lee in the head, knocking him out. Id. When Lee regained consciousness, Kim told him to pay Chung. Id. After the attack, Lee cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to set up and record two meetings between Lee and Kim at Gah Bin, on January 13 and 21, 2010, during which Lee paid Kim five hundred dollars. Id. The Bureau also recorded phone calls between Lee and Kim. Id. At trial, Lee “testified about the protection-payment ar- rangement,” the December 2009 attack, and his cooperation with the Bureau. Id. The government admitted the transcripts and translations of the recorded phone calls into evidence. Id. Other witnesses testified about the December 2009 attack, the close rela- tionship between Chung and Kim, and their history of “beat[ing] up people to collect debts” and “caus[ing] trouble for Lee . . . at USCA11 Case: 21-12406 Date Filed: 08/24/2022 Page: 4 of 18

4 Opinion of the Court 21-12406

other businesses he operated” by “refusing to pay tabs and causing property damage.” Id. at 807–08. We found that “overwhelming” evidence supported Kim’s convictions. Id. at 814. Kim’s defense theory was that the December 2009 attack was just a drunken bar fight, that he collected the two payments in January 2010 because he believed they were for a legitimate busi- ness debt that Lee owed to Chung, and that the government en- trapped Kim into collecting the payments. Id. at 808. Kim re- quested the pattern jury instruction on entrapment, and the district court denied the request. Id. We affirmed the denial because Kim was extorting Lee before Lee started cooperating with the Bureau. Id. at 813. In 2019—after Kim’s trial and conviction—the Bureau re- viewed calls on a recording system it was no longer going to use and found five recorded phone conversations between Lee and Kim that had not been previously disclosed. The calls were trans- lated from Korean to English. The fifth call, made January 26, 2010, consisted solely of some clicking sounds and Lee saying, “Hello?” The other four calls, made January 9, 16, 21 (A.M.), and 21 (P.M.), are the focus of this appeal. The January 9, 2010 call was the longest. At the beginning of the call, Kim declined Lee’s offer that Kim and two others (a car- penter who worked on Kim’s church and the carpenter’s associate) drink for free at Gah Bin. According to Kim, he “no longer want[ed]” to drink for free “starting 2010.” Then, Lee and Kim dis- cussed other people, including someone named Chul An who was USCA11 Case: 21-12406 Date Filed: 08/24/2022 Page: 5 of 18

21-12406 Opinion of the Court 5

causing problems for Lee. Kim told Lee that Lee “should relax and come and go” as Lee pleased, and that Kim considered Lee a “younger brother” and Lee should consider Kim an “[o]lder brother.” Lee told Kim that he gave money intended for Chung to one of Chung’s associates, and because that associate “took the money and spent it” instead of giving it to Chung, Chung “came with many” associates and “did bad things to” Lee. Kim confirmed that what Lee was saying was “correct.” Lee told Kim that Lee was “not going to the bar these days” because of his injuries. They talked about the injuries to Lee’s nose, eyes, and head, the pain he was in, and his “fumbling on words.” Lee said that “it was [a] big shock for [him] this time” because two weeks after Chung “put a gun on” him, Chul An came in. Lee complained that Chul An would make things “more dif- ficult” for him if Chul An “ma[d]e noise in the bar” and scared away the customers. Kim asked, “Should I say that you and I . . . are working together?” Lee responded, “They won’t believe it.” And Kim said, “No. They all know that I want to run a bar right now.” Kim said that there was “[n]o need to tell about receiving money” and that Lee should just say that Kim “invested [in] girls” at Gah Bin. Lee responded, “They will not believe that.” Kim shared his concern for the potential damage to Lee’s reputation. Lee said, “Back then[,] there weren’t any issues when I was giving [Chung] $500 each time at the bar,” and Kim said, “Let’s do that way.” Lee said, “I am just asking you not to make it too loud. USCA11 Case: 21-12406 Date Filed: 08/24/2022 Page: 6 of 18

6 Opinion of the Court 21-12406

I don’t want to get beat up or have problem with someone any- more,” and Kim said, “OK.” Lee said, “So I just need to do like that then?”, and Kim said, “Right.” Kim agreed to let Lee know if Chul An was “planning on doing something to” Lee. Lee and Kim coor- dinated when Kim could come to the shop to see Lee. Lee told Kim, “Come . . . someday when I tell you to.” Lee said, “I am just going to give $500 each week,” and Kim said, “Yeah.” Lee said, “Just don’t let me get damaged.

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United States v. Jong Sung Kim, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jong-sung-kim-ca11-2022.