The legal team for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was sentenced to prison in the first trial on charges of receiving free opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun, argued for his acquittal in the appellate court, citing that first-lady Kim Keon-hee was acquitted in both the first and second trials on the same factual basis.

The 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-keun) held the first appellate hearing on the 21st for former President Yoon and Myung on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.

Laying out the grounds for appeal, former President Yoon's legal team emphasized that Kim, who was separately indicted on the same charges, was acquitted in her first and second trials.

Yoon's counsel argued, "Given that the interpretations of the exact same text messages in Kim's first and second trials and Yoon's lower court ruling are completely opposite, we believe there is a problem with the lower court's judgment," adding, "We question whether this makes any sense from a common-sense perspective."

They continued, "The factual basis of this case and that of Kim Keon-hee's case are completely identical," and added, "Comparing the sentencing of former President Yoon's first trial with the first and second trial rulings of Kim's case will show which side is more persuasive."

Consequently, they requested that the lower court ruling be overturned and an acquittal be handed down, claiming the first instance court acknowledged the charge of receiving free opinion polls based merely on speculation without direct evidence.

On the other hand, the special counsel team led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki stated, "If the parts where the lower court acquitted due to lack of reasoning are also recognized as guilty, the crime amount will increase and the sentence should be aggravated accordingly," adding, "We appealed with the intention that all criminal charges be judged guilty and sentenced according to the original demand in the first trial."

During the hearing, the presiding bench also directly questioned former President Yoon, asking, "Under what circumstances did you meet the defendant Myung Tae-kyun?"

Yoon replied, "Myung sat together and greeted me when I met former People Power Party Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Chong-in," and added, "Later, when former leader Lee Jun-seok visited my house, Myung came along."

He further stated, "I have never met Myung alone," and added, "I have never met Myung together with my wife."

To the question of whether he remembered receiving opinion poll results from Myung via cell phone, he answered, "Opinion poll results came in so much that I do not remember," and added, "Since we had sufficient funds, there was no reason to receive opinion polls for free."

Toward the end of the session, a bail review was also held for Myung Tae-kyun, who had applied for bail the previous day.

Myung's legal team argued, "There is no risk of destroying evidence, and we hope he can stand trial in an unfettered state in accordance with the presumption of innocence and the principle of non-detention trials."

In response, the special counsel countered, "In the first trial of a case currently underway at the Busan High Court, it was recognized as a crime that Myung concealed his mobile phone with his brother-in-law," adding, "The claim that there is no risk of destroying evidence is not valid."

The court decided to continue the trial on the 11th of next month and plans to close arguments on that day barring any special circumstances.

Former President Yoon was indicted on charges of conspiring with Kim to receive free of charge a total of 58 opinion polls worth approximately 270 million won from Myung between June 2021 and March 2022.

The first trial recognized guilt for 14 opinion poll sessions where Myung directly delivered the results to the presidential couple, sentencing former President Yoon to two years in prison and Myung to one year and six months in prison, respectively.

However, the court judged that the remaining 44 opinion polls could not be concluded as having been provided by agreement with the couple since Myung did not deliver them directly.

Meanwhile, Kim was acquitted in both the first and second trials on the same charges and is currently awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court.

(Photo: Joint Press Corps, Yonhap News)