South Korea top court upholds jail term for MP over church bribes

South Korea's Supreme Court has upheld a two-year jail sentence for opposition lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, effectively removing him from parliament. Kweon, a five-term legislator from the People Power Party, was found guilty of accepting 100 million won in illegal political funds from the Unification Church. The court found that key evidence supported the guilty verdict and that Kweon had indeed received the illicit funds. The Supreme Court stated it found no errors in the appellate court's judgment that would affect the verdict. The appellate court had previously stated Kweon betrayed public trust and failed his constitutional duties by accepting the money. Kweon, a former prosecutor, was a floor leader and an ally of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The Unification Church has been embroiled in scandals, also implicating former President Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, who was convicted of accepting bribes and separate stock manipulation charges. The church's leader, Han Hak-ja, is also on trial for bribery charges.

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the Lower Court’s guilty verdict, finding that the key evidence in the case... was admissible as evidence, and that the defendant had received illegal political funds