Arya News - South Korea`s People Power Party is to return more than USD$27 million (39.7 billion won) in reimbursed election expenses once the court ruling is finalised.
SEOUL – Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, as the court convicted him of violating election law during his 2022 presidential election campaign.
The Seoul Central District Court accepted both charges pressed by special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team regarding Yoon’s claims about Yoon Woo-jin, former chief of the Yongsan Tax Office, and shaman Jeon Seong-bae.
“A candidate making a statement at a debate or interview could have substantial influence (on the public) and significantly affect the decision-making process of the voters,” the court said in its ruling, convicting Yoon for violating the Public Official Election Act.
Monday’s ruling is expected to deal a significant blow to the main opposition People Power Party if the guilty verdict is finalized, with a penalty of at least 1 million won ($680).
The party would be mandated to return 39.7 billion won in election funds that it had been reimbursed for after the 2022 presidential elections to the National Election Commission.
Yoon in 2021 claimed he did not introduce a lawyer to Yoon Woo-jin, who in November was handed a jail term for receiving money from entrepreneurs in exchange for favors related to tax audits.
The court said the former leader deliberately allowed his name and position to be used in the meeting. It said his denial of the connection in a debate was a grave matter, since he publicized a hood about his relationship with the former tax official.
Yoon in 2022 also claimed that he and his wife Kim Keon Hee did not meet with Jeon Seong-bae, and that an official of his party at the time, the People Power Party, had introduced him to Jeon.
The court said the public could have considered the statement to mean the former president did not have any personal relationship with the shaman, which constitutes making claims to voters. It added that evidence indicates the two likely met in 2013 through Kim.
“Whether a presidential candidate has had a long-term relationship with a person like Jeon and has received advice from him is directly connected to the voter’s assessment of his ability, qualification and the possibility that he would rely on unofficial influence,” the court said.
Yoon’s lawyers said they will appeal the ruling, contending that the court’s decision contained many errors.
The Supreme Court is expected to make its ruling in late January 2027, due to the special counsel bill requirement that related trials are conducted earlier than regular cases. First-instance trials must be wrapped up within six months. Appellate trials and Supreme Court trials each must conclude within three months.
Even if the top court confirms Yoon’s election law violation charges, it would likely not invalidate his tenure as the country’s president. Such a ruling would take effect after the court’s sentence and would not be applied retroactively.
Yoon’s benefits as a former president have already been revoked after the Constitutional Court confirmed his impeachment in April 2025.
Yoon is currently undergoing multiple criminal trials related to his failed imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, along with charges related to the 2022 presidential election and the 2023 death of a Marine. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in February for leading an insurrection through the short-lived martial law.