[Anchor]
A lower court has found former President Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of all charges regarding the publication of false information ahead of the 2022 presidential election. He was sentenced to one year and six months in prison suspended for three years. If this ruling is finalized, the People Power Party will be required to return all 39.7 billion won in election expenses reimbursed from the 20th presidential election to the national treasury.
[Reporter]
The 21st Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act by publishing false information, to one year and six months in prison with a three-year probation today (July 27).
The court ruled all the indictment charges—that former President Yoon published two instances of false information ahead of the 2022 presidential election—as guilty.
Previously, during a Kwanhun Club debate in December 2021, former President Yoon stated that he had never introduced a lawyer to former Yongsan Tax Office Chief Yoon Woo-jin.
[Yoon Suk Yeol / Former President (December 2021): "My younger brother is also an active-duty prosecutor, and I was not in a position to introduce a lawyer like that..."]
However, the court determined that former President Yoon had indeed introduced a lawyer to the former tax office chief.
Subsequently, in an interview with the Buddhism Leaders Forum ahead of the 20th presidential election in January 2022, his statement that he had never met Jeon Sung-bae, known as 'Geonjin Beopsa', along with Kim Keon-hee was also judged to be false information.
The court accepted the investigation results from the Kim Keon-hee special counsel team, which showed that he first met Jeon through Kim and maintained a relationship for over 10 years.
The court criticized, stating, "Considering that former President Yoon was a leading presidential candidate at the time and facing approval rating issues due to controversies over shamanism, the intent to publish false information at the time of the statements is also recognized."
If former President Yoon's sentence is finalized by the Supreme Court, the People Power Party, which nominated former President Yoon, must return 39.7 billion won, including election expenses reimbursed during the 20th presidential election, to the National Election Commission.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video reporting: Yang Hyun-chul | Video editing: Kim Yoon-sung)
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