Seoul, South Korea, July 13 (ANI): A Seoul court on Monday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to two years in prison for violating the Political Funds Act, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of illegally receiving free opinion polling services worth 270 million won (about US$180,100) from political broker Myung Tae-kyun during his 2021-22 presidential campaign.
Prosecutors argued that Yoon received 14 customized opinion polls in exchange for using his influence to help Myung’s associate, former lawmaker Kim Young-sun, secure a nomination from the People Power Party.
Presiding Judge Lee Jin-gwan said that free opinion polls “directly impact the fairness of elections.”
Myung was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and was taken into custody.
The ruling adds to Yoon’s previous convictions, including a finalized seven-year prison sentence last week for obstructing investigators, a life sentence for insurrection, and a 30-year prison term for treason.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of 13.96 million won.
In its ruling, the court accepted the special counsel team’s argument that Yoon had promised to support former lawmaker Kim Young-sun’s nomination as the conservative People Power Party’s candidate in the June 2022 parliamentary by-elections in exchange for the opinion polling services, according to Yonhap.
The special counsel team had sought a four-year prison sentence for Yoon and a three-year sentence for Myung.
According to Yonhap, the ruling differs from an appellate court’s acquittal of Yoon’s wife on charges of accepting free opinion polling services from Myung in a separate case.
In acquitting her in April, the Seoul High Court ruled that the couple could not be considered beneficiaries of the polling services because Myung had provided similar services to other individuals. The special counsel team has appealed that decision.
The conviction marks the latest legal setback for Yoon, who is facing multiple trials following his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024. In February, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his brief declaration of martial law, Yonhap reported. (ANI)
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