Yoon Suk Yeol Also Gets “Election-Invalidating Sentence” on Appeal; People Power Party Faces Return of 39.7 Billion Won in Campaign Costs (Comprehensive)

Lower court's sentence upheld: 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years
"Denials of introducing a lawyer and meeting with Shaman Geonjin alongside Kim Keon Hee were false"
If a fine of at least 1 million won is finalized under election law,
the party must return all reimbursed campaign funds

Yonhap News Agency

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was also given a suspended prison sentence by the appellate court for allegedly making false statements while he was a presidential candidate. If the Supreme Court upholds the sentence, the People Power Party will have to return the 39.7 billion won in campaign expenses it was reimbursed for in the last presidential election.

The Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 2-1, comprising Presiding Judge Baek Seung-yeop and High Court Judges Hwang Seung-tae and Kim Young-hyun, rejected Yoon’s appeal at the appellate sentencing hearing on November 4 and upheld the lower court’s sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.

The panel found that Yoon’s statement during his presidential campaign that he had not introduced a lawyer to Yoon Woo-jin, former head of the Yongsan District Tax Office, amounted to the publication of false information.

It also found that his statement that he had never met Jeon Seong-bae, known as “Shaman Geonjin,” together with First Lady Kim Keon Hee was a publication of false information.

Yoon was indicted over allegedly making a false statement at a discussion hosted by the Kwanhun Club on December 14, 2021, saying he had not introduced a lawyer who had formerly worked at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Central Investigation Department to the former district tax office chief.

At the first trial, the court found him guilty of both charges and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.

Under the Public Official Election Act, if an elected candidate receives a final sentence of at least 1 million won in fines for an election crime, the candidate’s political party must return the campaign expenses reimbursed by the National Election Commission.

Accordingly, if the Supreme Court upholds Yoon’s sentence, the People Power Party will have to return to the National Election Commission the 39.7 billion won in campaign expenses it was reimbursed for during the 20th presidential election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.