Appellate Court Upholds Prison Sentence and Invalid Election Penalty for Yoon Suk Yeol Over False Statements

[Anchor]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was put on trial for disseminating false information during his presidential campaign, has been sentenced to a prison term that would invalidate his election win in the appellate court as well. We connect with our reporter at the court.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu, today's (November 4) ruling is largely similar to the first-instance verdict, isn't it?

[Reporter]

The Seoul High Court dismissed the appeal filed by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in connection with his indictment for violating the Public Official Election Act.

The sentence of one year and six months in prison with a three-year probation period, which would invalidate his election, handed down in the first trial last July, was upheld by the appellate court.

[It is difficult to assess that the sentence imposed by the original court on the defendant exceeded the reasonable scope of discretion and is therefore excessively heavy and unfair.]

Yoon was indicted on charges of making two false statements during the election process.

The appellate court, like the lower court, ruled that both statements constituted the publication of false information.

First, the court determined that Yoon's statement during a Kwanhun Club debate in December 2021—where he claimed he had never introduced an attorney from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Central Investigation Department to former Yongsan Tax Office Chief Yoon Woo-jin—constituted a false statement.

In addition, the court stated that his remark in response to reporters' questions in January 2022—stating that he was introduced to Jeon Seong-bae, known as Geonjin Beobsa, by a party official and had never met him together with his spouse Kim Keon-hee—was also the publication of false information.

[Anchor]

Reporter Kwon, the sentencing remains the same between the second and first trials. Did the court explain the reason for imposing a sentence that invalidates the election once again?

[Reporter]

The court pointed out that Yoon consistently offered excuses even though his dissemination of false information infringed upon voters' right to make informed choices and undermined the fairness and procedural legitimacy of the election.

The court explained its reasoning for the sentence by noting that following the false statements, the approval rating gap with then-Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung narrowed to within the margin of error, making it difficult to view the ripple effect of the statements as minor.

Immediately after the ruling, Yoon's defense counsel expressed plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming that the court delivered a verdict with a predetermined conclusion.

The special counsel team for insurrection stated that they appreciate the court's thorough deliberation and that it was a verdict the public could understand.

If the election-invalidating sentences handed down in the first and second trials are finalized in the future, the People Power Party will have to return all 39.7 billion won it received as election campaign expense reimbursements.

(Live Broadcasting: Seo Jin-ho, Reporting: Yang Hyun-cheol, Video Editing: Kim Jin-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.