South Korean court sentences ex-President Yoon to suspended jail term over campaign lies

A South Korean court has handed former President Yoon Suk-yeol a suspended prison sentence for spreading false information during his 2022 presidential campaign. The ruling, delivered by the Seoul Central District Court, found Yoon guilty of violating election laws.

The sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, carries significant consequences. Should the Supreme Court uphold this decision, Yoon's election as president would be invalidated. This would also obligate his party, the People Power Party, to repay 39.7 billion won (approximately $29 million) in campaign costs to the National Election Commission. The Supreme Court is anticipated to issue its final verdict as early as January.

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The verdict is at a level that merely copies the one-sided claims of the special prosecution team.

The court deemed several statements made by Yoon during the campaign to be false. Specifically, it found his denial of introducing a lawyer to a former tax official investigated for bribery in 2012 to be untrue. Additionally, his claim that he never met with first lady Kim Keon-hee and a figure named "Geonjinbeop-sa" through a party official was also ruled false.

Yoon's legal team immediately announced their intention to appeal, criticizing the verdict as a mere copy of the special prosecutor's claims. They argued that the ruling failed to consider the broader meaning and intent of Yoon's statements, a key aspect in judging alleged violations of election law according to Supreme Court precedents.

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It does not align with the Supreme Court's precedent regarding the 'overall meaning and intent of the statement' in judging false information under the Public Official Election Act.