▲ Former President Yoon Suk-yeol attends the first-instance sentencing hearing for charges of violating the Public Official Election Act at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on July 27. (Photo: Provided by Seoul Central District Court, Yonhap News)
The legal team for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was sentenced in the first instance to a sentence that would strip him of his elected status for allegedly spreading false information during the 20th presidential election, appealed for his acquittal in the second instance by citing a recent Facebook post by Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Research Institute.
They argued that the first-instance guilty verdict was unfair, putting forward Cho's post asserting that the scope of "false facts" penalized under the current Public Official Election Act should be narrowed.
During the first hearing of the appellate trial for charges of violating the Public Official Election Act held by the second criminal appeals panel of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Baek Seung-yeop, Hwang Seung-tae, and Kim Young-hyun) on the 8th, former President Yoon's defense counsel requested, "We understand that Institute Head Cho Kuk also expressed the need for legal revision, stating that the crime of spreading false facts is overly comprehensive and allows for arbitrary punishment, and that the Democratic Party of Korea has also shown a positive response. Please overturn the original verdict and acquit him."
On the 6th, Cho posted on Facebook proposing that the National Assembly pass an amendment to delete "conduct" from the requirements for the crime of spreading false information stipulated by the Public Official Election Act.
He explained that the term "conduct" has faced criticism for causing arbitrary law enforcement because it is less clear compared to other targets of false information, such as birthplace or occupation.
He also stated that if the amendment passes, it would pave the way for both former President Yoon and President Lee Jae-myung to receive decisions dismissing the indictments in their respective Public Official Election Act violation cases.
The case involving President Lee mentioned by Cho Kuk refers to the prosecution of President Lee for allegedly spreading false information, such as claiming during a broadcast interview when he was a presidential candidate that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, former Development Division 1 Director at the Seongnam Development Corporation, who was a key figure in the Daejang-dong development project.
In May of last year, the Supreme Court en banc sent the case back to the Seoul High Court with a guilty intent, stating that based on the overall impression President Lee's remarks gave to voters, it constituted the publication of false facts.
The first-instance court for former President Yoon's election law violation case acknowledged Yoon's charges as guilty based on this Supreme Court en banc precedent, sentencing him to one year and six months in prison with a three-year suspension of execution.
During the appeal trial that day, former President Yoon's defense team pointed out, "If the first-instance sentence is finalized, the People Power Party may have to return approximately 40 billion won in election expense reimbursements," adding, "Considering that in the case of President Lee Jae-myung, the trial has been suspended even after a Supreme Court ruling sending the case back with a guilty intent, fairness issues are likely to be raised."
They also argued that the remarks made by former President Yoon during his presidential campaign—which became the subject of controversy—were made impulsively and defensively during debates or media interviews, and that the first-instance court analyzed them too formally, making the ruling unfair.
Given the opportunity to speak directly, former President Yoon appealed, "If a 2-to-3-second response saying 'That is not it' is called the publication of false facts, it is questionable whether election campaigning is realistically possible," asking the appellate court to thoroughly review the matter.
On the other hand, the special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki requested that the court dismiss the appeal by former President Yoon's side and maintain the sentence handed down in the first instance.
The court decided to summon former Vice Minister of Justice Yoon Dae-jin, who is connected to former President Yoon's remarks, as a witness for examination on the 22nd, and conclude the arguments after finishing the examination of the defendant, former President Yoon.
Former President Yoon is accused of spreading false information to the effect that "he never introduced a certain lawyer Lee (formerly with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Central Investigation Department) to former Yongsan Tax Office Chief Yoon Woo-jin" during a Kwanhun Club-hosted debate on December 14, 2021, when he was a presidential candidate.
Former Tax Office Chief Yoon is the older brother of former Vice Minister Yoon Dae-jin, a close confidant of former President Yoon during his prosecutor days.
The special prosecutor team believes that former President Yoon actually introduced the lawyer but lied out of concern over a drop in approval ratings.
He is also accused of spreading false information during an interview at the launch ceremony of the Buddhist Leaders Forum on January 17, 2022, claiming that "he was introduced to Kunjin Buddhist Jeon Sung-bae by a party official and has never met him together with First Lady Kim Keon-hee."
According to the Public Official Election Act, if a presidential candidate is elected or receives 15 percent or more of the vote, the National Election Commission reimburses the full amount of election expenses.
However, if they are subsequently sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for an election crime and the sentence is finalized, their election becomes void, in which case the political party must return the election expenses.
Therefore, if former President Yoon's first-instance sentence is finalized, the People Power Party must return the 39.7 billion won in election expenses reimbursed during the presidential election to the National Election Commission.
(Photo: Provided by Seoul Central District Court, Yonhap News)
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