South OC Man Who Took $3M+ In Bribes For General Motors Sentenced

IRVINE, CA — A former General Motors manager from Irvine was handed a two-year prison sentence Tuesday for taking more than $3 million in bribes from a South Korean parts supplier in return for a major contract with the automaker.

Hyoung Nam So, 48, known as Brian So, was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

So was found guilty last year of bribery conspiracy on the seventh day of trial in downtown Los Angeles.

The jury heard evidence that the parts supplier paid So a total of $3.45 million as payment for rigging the bids on a contract to supply GM with auto painting, window film and molding.

Homeland Security Investigations seized $3.19 million believed to be bribery proceeds from a private vault in Los Altos, in Santa Clara County, in 2017, and federal authorities subsequently returned the money to South Korean authorities, papers filed in Los Angeles federal court show.

So was a manager at the time in GM's Global Purchasing and Supply Chain organization in Detroit, where he oversaw the supply of parts used to build automobile interiors.

He was charged in March 2022 with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said the auto parts supplier was prosecuted in South Korea for offenses related to the bribery scheme.