Yoon Suk Yeol Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for 'Free Opinion Polls' Case

[Anchor]

Defendant Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial for receiving free opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun. This ruling contradicts the acquittal handed down to Kim Keon-hee, who was indicted as an accomplice but tried separately, in both the first and second trials.

Legal affairs reporter Im Chanjong has the story.

[Reporter]

The key issue in the verdict delivered today (July 13) was the nature of the opinion polls that former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife received from Myung Tae-kyun.

While providing opinion polls for free is a violation of the Political Funds Act, it is not considered a crime if the Yoon side did not request the polls or agree to them, and if Myung had planned them independently for his own purposes.

The first-instance court, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Jin-kwan, stated that 14 of the opinion polls received by former President Yoon between June 2021 and March 2022 constituted illegal political funds.

The court reasoned that if Myung had provided them unilaterally for the purpose of promoting his polling business, it would have happened only once. The court concluded, "Considering the frequency, the duration, and the relationship between the couple and Myung, it is difficult to view these as unilaterally provided for free without any agreement."

Consequently, the court sentenced former President Yoon to two years in prison and ordered a forfeiture of approximately 13.96 million won. Myung was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and was taken into court custody.

[Chief Judge Lee Jin-kwan/Presiding Judge: The actions of the defendant, Yoon Suk Yeol, have exacerbated public distrust in politics and hindered the public's expectations for the sound development of democratic politics, making them highly blameworthy.]

This ruling conflicts with the outcome of the trial for Kim Keon-hee, who was indicted as an accomplice to former President Yoon.

Kim, who was tried separately from former President Yoon, was acquitted in both her first and second trials, with the courts ruling that the polls conducted by Myung were a means of business activity rather than being exclusively for the couple.

With the rulings for the two individuals indicted as accomplices now diverging, the Supreme Court's final decision on Kim Keon-hee, scheduled for July 16, is expected to determine which legal logic will be upheld.

(Video reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video editing: Kim Ho-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.