Witness examination continued in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s appeals trial over alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act.
After the hearing on September 29, the panel postponed the originally scheduled final proceedings to the 13th of the following month.
Although a guilty verdict was issued at the first trial, whether 397억원 in election expenses must be returned has not yet been definitively determined.
3-Line Summary
1. The final proceedings in Yoon Suk Yeol’s election law appeals trial were postponed.
2. Former prosecutor general Yoon Dae-jin appeared as a witness.
3. The return of 397억원 presupposes a final judgment.
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Dae-jin’s Testimony and the Key Issues
The Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 2-1 held a hearing on September 29 in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s appeals trial over alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act. The trial concerns whether Yoon’s statement that he had not introduced an attorney to former Yongsan District Tax Office chief Yoon Woo-jin at a Kwanhun Club invitation forum in December 2021 constituted the publication of false information.
That day, former prosecutor general Yoon Dae-jin testified that he himself was the person who connected his older brother, former chief Yoon Woo-jin, with an attorney from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Central Investigation Department in 2012. This conflicts with the special counsel team’s indictment, which alleges that the person who introduced the attorney was former President Yoon.
The special counsel team believes that former President Yoon was the introducer, based on a telephone conversation he had with a reporter at the time and text messages the attorney sent to former chief Yoon. By contrast, Yoon’s side argued that the actual introducer was former prosecutor general Yoon Dae-jin, and that Yoon spoke as though he had made the introduction in an attempt to shield Yoon Dae-jin from suspicions directed at him. The court has not yet determined which side’s argument it will accept.
Final Proceedings Set for October 13; Sentencing Date to Be Announced Later
The panel postponed the final proceedings scheduled for that day to October 13. At the final hearing, the special counsel team’s closing argument and sentencing recommendation, as well as the defendant’s final statement, will be presented, after which the panel will announce the sentencing date.
At the first trial, the court found all charges in the case to be proven and sentenced former President Yoon to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years. The appeals trial is the stage at which the court examines the first-trial ruling, newly presented testimony, and the arguments of both sides together. Therefore, the appeals-trial outcome cannot be determined solely from the first-trial sentence or a single piece of testimony presented that day.
The case also includes charges that false information was published concerning the meeting between shaman Jeon Seong-bae, known as “Gunjin Beopsa,” and Kim Keon Hee during an interview at the launch ceremony of the Buddhist Leaders Forum in January 2022.
Why Is “Finality” Important for the Return of 397억원?
According to the Public Official Election Act provisions reported in the media, election expenses reimbursed to a presidential candidate who is elected or receives 15% or more of the vote become subject to repayment if the candidate is later subject to a final sentence of a fine of 100만원 or more for an election crime. Yonhap News reported that if the sentence against former President Yoon becomes final, the People Power Party will have to return 397억원 in election expenses reimbursed for the 20th presidential election to the National Election Commission.
In a Newsis report, Lee Seong-yoon, a top member of the Democratic Party of Korea, claimed that the People Power Party would have to return 397억원 if the guilty verdict becomes final. This is a politician’s statement and a claim premised on a final judgment. Whether the money is actually returned depends on whether the sentence becomes final through the appeals trial and any subsequent available court proceedings.
The key point to watch in this hearing is not the number of witnesses, but whether the panel will determine that the circumstances of the attorney’s introduction and the statement made at the time constituted the publication of false information.
References
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