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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Lawyer license revoked for ex-lawmaker convicted of taking Unification Church funds

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Former lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong has had his lawyer's license revoked following his conviction for receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church.
  • The Supreme Court confirmed his two-year prison sentence on August 16, also resulting in the loss of his parliamentary seat.
  • Kwon had been accused of receiving 100 million won from a Unification Church official in exchange for political favors.

Kwon Seong-dong, a former lawmaker from the People Power Party, has had his license to practice law revoked after his conviction for receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church. The Korean Bar Association recently canceled his lawyer registration, following an order from the Ministry of Justice on August 14.

Kwon was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court on August 16 for violating the Political Funds Act. He was accused of receiving 100 million won (approximately $71,000) from a Unification Church official in 2022, allegedly in return for political favors. The conviction automatically disqualified him from his parliamentary seat.

The law stipulates that individuals sentenced to imprisonment or a heavier penalty, whose sentences have not yet been completed, are ineligible to be lawyers. Kwon, who passed the bar exam in 1985, began his career as a prosecutor in 1991 before opening his own law firm in 2006 and entering politics in 2009.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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