Yoon Suk Yeol handed suspended term for election law violation

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, as the court convicted him of violating the election law during his 2022 presidential election campaign.

The Seoul Central District Court accepted both charges pressed by the special counsel, for Yoon’s false claims about Yoon Woo-jin, former chief of the Yongsan Tax Office, and shaman Jeon Seong-bae.

“The defendant, who was a leading candidate in the presidential election, made false claims about his actions. … A candidate making a false statement at a debate or interview could have substantial influence (on the public) or significantly affect the decision-making process of the voters,” the court said in its ruling, convicting Yoon for violating the Public Official Election Act.

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, having the lawyer talk to the former tax official multiple times since.

Yoon in 2022 also claimed that he and his wife, then-first lady Kim Keon Hee, did not meet shaman Jeon Seong-bae, and that an official of his then-party, 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 false 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, saying the court’s decision has many errors.

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 ($700) or higher.

The party would then be mandated to return the 39.7 billion won in election funds that it had been reimbursed for after the 2022 presidential elections to the National Election Commission.

Yoon is currently undergoing multiple criminal trials related to his failed imposition of martial law bid 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 in the case’s first-instance trial.