KOR
A first-instance verdict is also scheduled for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was indicted on charges of receiving free public opinion surveys from Myung Tae-kyun alongside the First Lady.
Additionally, the first preparatory hearing for the appeals trial regarding former President Yoon’s alleged involvement in the Pyongyang drone operation, intended to create a pretext for declaring martial law, will take place this week.
The Supreme Court’s Second Division (Presiding Justice Park Young-jae) will announce its ruling on July 16 at 10:15 a.m. regarding the charges against Kim Keon-hee, which include violations of the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (mediation bribery).
Kim is accused of receiving a Graff diamond necklace worth 62 million won and two Chanel bags worth a total of 20 million won from Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s world headquarters, between April and July 2022, in exchange for favors regarding church support through a figure known as Geonjin Beopsa (Jeon Seong-bae).
She is also charged with gaining 810 million won in unfair profits by participating in Deutsch Motors stock manipulation from October 2010 to December 2012, and conspiring with former President Yoon to receive public opinion survey results worth 270 million won from Myung between June 2021 and March 2022.
The first trial found her partially guilty only on the charges of receiving bribes from the Unification Church, sentencing her to one year and eight months in prison.
In April, the second trial overturned the previous ruling, finding her guilty on all counts, and increased her sentence to four years in prison and a 50 million won fine, citing partial guilt in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case as well.
However, the court ruled her not guilty of receiving illegal public opinion surveys, consistent with the first trial.
The special prosecutor team had requested a 15-year prison sentence for Kim in both the first and second trials.
The Supreme Court’s Second Division (Presiding Justice Eom Sang-pil) will also deliver a ruling at the same time as Kim’s on the Political Funds Act violation case involving People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong.
Kwon was indicted on charges of receiving 100 million won from former Unification Church official Yoon Young-ho on January 5, 2022, ahead of the 20th presidential election, in exchange for requests such as government support for the church.
Both the first and second trials found him guilty, sentencing him to two years in prison and ordering a forfeiture of 100 million won.
If this ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, Kwon will lose his parliamentary seat in accordance with the National Assembly Act and the Public Official Election Act.
Kwon has denied the charges, claiming he met with the former official for a meal but did not receive any money.
Tomorrow, July 13, the Seoul Central District Court (Criminal Agreement Division 33, Presiding Judge Lee Jin-kwan) will hold the first-instance sentencing for former President Yoon’s alleged violation of the Political Funds Act.
Kim Keon-hee, who was indicted separately for conspiring with the former president to receive free public opinion surveys from Myung, was found not guilty in both the first and second trials.
The special prosecutor team had requested a four-year prison sentence for her and a three-year sentence for Myung, who was indicted alongside her.
On July 15, the Seoul High Court (Criminal Division 1, Presiding Judge Yoon Seong-sik) will hold the first preparatory hearing for the appeals trial of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, and others on charges of treason (aiding the enemy).
Former President Yoon, former Minister Kim, and former Defense Security Command Chief Yeo In-hyung are accused of ordering the Drone Operations Command to infiltrate Pyongyang with drones around October 2024 to create conditions for declaring martial law.
They are also charged with abuse of power for forcing military personnel to perform duties they were not obligated to carry out during the operation.
The first trial found most of the charges guilty, sentencing former President Yoon and former Minister Kim to 30 years in prison each.
Former Chief Yeo, who was briefed on the operation and advised on the timing of martial law, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while former Drone Operations Commander Kim Yong-dae, who directed the actual operation, received a three-year prison sentence suspended for five years.
On July 16, the Seoul High Court (Criminal Division 13, Presiding Judges Kim Mu-shin, Lee Woo-hee, and Yoo Dong-gyun) will deliver the second-instance ruling for former Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo, who was indicted on charges of receiving benefits such as a Porsche rental car from a so-called fake fishery businessman.
Park was indicted in November 2022 on charges of receiving a total of 3.36 million won in benefits, including a free Porsche rental worth 2.5 million won and seafood products worth 860,000 won on three occasions, from a man identified as Mr. Kim, the fake fishery businessman, in 2020.
The first trial sentenced Park to four months in prison suspended for one year and ordered a forfeiture of 3.36 million won.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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