A Seoul district court has sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to two years in prison for his involvement in accepting illegal political funds. The court found him partially guilty of receiving free opinion polls, considered illegal political funds, from a self-proclaimed power broker. Yoon was convicted of violating the Political Funds Act, with the court ordering a forfeiture of 13.96 million won.
The court’s ruling stemmed from charges that Yoon colluded with his wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, to receive 58 opinion polls for free from the power broker, totaling about 270 million won. Yoon received 14 of these opinion polls for free, leading to his sentencing and the forfeiture order. The court also noted that Yoon had promised support for a conservative party candidate’s nomination in exchange for the opinion polls.
Yoon’s actions were deemed to have damaged public trust in politics and democracy, leading to the court’s decision to impose a prison sentence. The court also sentenced the power broker, Myung Tae-kyun, to 18 months in prison for his involvement in the case. Yoon’s lawyers have expressed intent to appeal the ruling, citing the acquittal of his wife in a separate trial involving similar charges.
