Ex-aide to S. Korean party leader gets 14 months in 'money envelope' scandal

A former aide to Song Young-gil, a prominent figure in South Korea's Democratic Party, has had his prison sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court. Mr. Park, who was a key suspect in the party's "money envelope" scandal, received a final sentence of 1 year and 2 months for violating political funding laws and other related charges.

The Supreme Court's Third Division upheld the lower courts' sentences on August 24, confirming 8 months for violating the Political Funds Act and 6 months for charges related to the concealment of criminal proceeds and instigating the destruction of evidence. The court also ordered the confiscation of 92.4 million won.

Mr. Park was accused of conspiring with others, including Kang Rae-gu and Lee Jung-geun, to distribute 67.5 million won during the Democratic Party's national convention in May 2021 to help Song Young-gil win the party leadership. He also faced charges for illegally receiving 92.4 million won for opinion poll expenses related to the convention through "Peace and Livelihood Research Institute," an organization supporting Song Young-gil.

While the "money envelope distribution" charge was ultimately dismissed in the appellate court due to the exclusion of key evidence (a voice recording from Lee Jung-geun's phone), the charges related to the illegal receipt of funds for opinion polls and evidence tampering were upheld by both the first and appellate courts, and subsequently by the Supreme Court. Song Young-gil himself was acquitted in February of the money envelope distribution allegations for similar reasons regarding the admissibility of evidence.