[Anchor]
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to two years in prison in his first trial for allegedly receiving free public opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun. This ruling contrasts with the outcome for his wife, Kim Keon Hee, who was acquitted in both the first and second trials on the same charges.
Legal affairs correspondent Im Chanjong reports.
[Reporter]
The key issue in the ruling delivered yesterday (July 13) was the nature of the opinion polls that the former President and his wife received from Myung Tae-kyun.
While providing opinion polls for free is a violation of the Political Funds Act, it would not be considered a crime if the former President's side had not requested the polls or reached an agreement, and if the polls were planned in advance by Myung for his own purposes.
The first-instance court, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Jin-kwan, stated that 14 of the opinion polls received by the former President between June 2021 and March 2022 constituted illegal political funds.
The court reasoned that if Myung had provided the polls unilaterally for the purpose of promoting his polling business, it should have occurred only once. The court determined that "considering the frequency, duration, and the relationship between the former President, his wife, and Myung Tae-kyun, it is difficult to view these as having been provided unilaterally for free without any agreement."
Consequently, the court sentenced the former President to two years in prison and ordered a forfeiture of approximately 13.96 million won. Myung was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and was taken into court custody.
[Chief Judge Lee Jin-kwan/Presiding Judge: The actions of the defendant, Yoon Suk Yeol, have exacerbated distrust in politics and caused serious consequences that hinder public expectations for the healthy development of democratic politics, making him highly blameworthy.]
This ruling contradicts the results of the trial for Kim Keon Hee, who was indicted as an accomplice to the former President.
Kim had been tried separately from the former President. In her case, both the first and second-instance courts acquitted her, concluding that the opinion polls conducted by Myung Tae-kyun were a means of business activity rather than being exclusively for the former President and his wife.
With conflicting rulings for the two individuals charged as accomplices, the Supreme Court's decision on Kim Keon Hee, scheduled for July 16, is expected to determine which legal logic will be upheld.
(Video reporting: Yang Hyun-cheol, Video editing: Kim Ho-jin)
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