▲ Banners reading "Thank you, citizens of Gangneung" are seen along the streets near the constituency office of former People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, who lost his parliamentary seat after the Supreme Court confirmed a prison sentence on the 16th.
A by-election will be held in April next year in Gangneung, the constituency of former People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, who lost his seat after his prison sentence was confirmed for receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from the Unification Church.
The Gangwon-do Election Commission announced today (July 20) that the by-election for the Gangneung constituency will take place on April 7 next year.
Applications for preliminary candidate registration will begin on December 8 of this year, and official candidate registration will be held for two days from March 18 to 19 next year.
Former lawmaker Kwon was indicted by a special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki in October last year on charges of receiving 100 million won from Yoon Young-ho, former secretary-general of the Unification Church's world headquarters, on January 5, 2022, ahead of the 20th presidential election, in exchange for requests such as government support for the religious group under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
On the 16th, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling, which sentenced Kwon to two years in prison and ordered a forfeiture of 100 million won.
In a statement posted on Facebook following the ruling, Kwon said, "While I cannot hide my deep regret regarding the factual findings and the application of legal principles, I will humbly accept the final judgment of the judiciary," adding, "I hope that political retaliation ends with me."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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