'Myung Tae-gyun Poll' Case: Former President Yoon Suk Yeol Acquitted on Appeal Over Conviction

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was indicted on charges of receiving complimentary opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-gyun, has been acquitted in his second trial.

This overturns the partial guilty verdict from the first trial.

On the 7th, Criminal Division 7 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-keun) acquitted both former President Yoon and Myung, who had been indicted for violating the Political Funds Act.

The special counsel team led by Min Jung-ki had previously demanded a 4-year prison sentence for former President Yoon and a 3-year prison sentence for Myung.

The court ruled that it was not proven that former President Yoon conspired with First Lady Kim Keonhee to receive 58 free opinion polls worth approximately 270 million won in total from Myung between June 2021 and March 2022.

First, the court pointed out that Myung's provision of opinion polls to the couple cannot be regarded as a "donation of political funds" under the Political Funds Act.

The rationale is that political fund donations require a property benefit, and it is difficult to classify the opinion polls delivered by Myung as a "property benefit."

The court stated, "What the Yoon Suk Yeol couple received from Myung Tae-gyun appears to be political advice, such as public opinion trends, and assistance including introductions to influential politicians. The opinion polls were merely presented as a means or part of the basis for political advice alongside other surveys," adding, "It appears that whether Myung Tae-gyun directly conducted the polls and what the results were were not of significant importance."

The court further noted, "While the political advice provided by Myung Tae-gyun may be seen as a political benefit, it cannot be converted into a property benefit," and concluded, "It is difficult to view it as a donation of political funds."

In addition, the appellate court ruled, "There is no evidence to acknowledge a mutual agreement, such as a request or consultation between Myung Tae-gyun and the Yoon couple regarding the execution or free provision of opinion polls," adding, "It is also difficult to recognize the defendants' intent to donate political funds."

The court explained that it comprehensively considered several factors: the polls were conducted entirely based on the intentions and judgment of the Mirae Korea Research Institute; only a portion of them were delivered to the Yoon couple; and Myung also provided opinion polls to other politicians, such as former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok.

This conflicts with the first-instance ruling, which found that there was an implicit mutual agreement between the Yoon couple and Myung regarding the execution and provision of the opinion polls.

The first trial found Myung guilty regarding 14 opinion polls whose results were directly delivered by Myung to the Yoon couple.

It judged that Myung had donated political funds equivalent to the cost of the opinion polls to the couple.

Accordingly, the property benefit obtained by the couple was calculated at approximately 27.92 million won.

It ruled that the remaining 44 opinion polls could not be concluded to have been provided based on an agreement with the couple, as they were not directly delivered by Myung.

The first-instance court sentenced former President Yoon to 2 years in prison and Myung to 1 year and 6 months in prison.

Previously, the first and second-instance trials for First Lady Kim Keonhee, who was indicted on the same charges, acquitted her by ruling that Myung had unilaterally provided the opinion polls without prior request or consultation for the purpose of his own opinion polling agency, Mirae Korea Research Institute's business operations or expanding his political influence.

(Photo: Joint Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.