“Yoon Suk-yeol spoke while aware the statements were false” “A major impact on the election”···Court rebukes ‘Yoon lie’ - 경향신문

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If finalized by the Supreme Court, the People Power Party must return the entire 39.7 billion won in presidential election expenses

On the 27th, the day of the first-trial verdict for former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, citizens watch a live broadcast of the trial in the main hall at Seoul Station. Senior staff reporter Kang Yoon-jung

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced in the court of first instance to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act for making false statements during the 20th presidential race at venues including a Kwanhun Club debate. If this ruling, which corresponds to invalidation of election, is finalized by the Supreme Court, the People Power Party must return to the National Election Commission the entire 39.7 billion won it was reimbursed for presidential election expenses.

The 21st Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Cho Soon-pyo) of the Seoul Central District Court delivered this verdict on the 27th at the first-trial sentencing hearing in Yoon's case on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

Yoon, then a presidential candidate, attended a Kwanhun Club invitational debate on December 14, 2021. There, in response to reporters questions, he answered to the effect that “I have never introduced a lawyer to former Yongsan Tax Office chief Yoon Woo-jin.” In a January 2022 interview at the launch of the Buddhist Leaders Forum, he also said to the effect that “I was introduced to Jeon Seong-bae by a People Power Party contact and exchanged greetings, but I have never met him together with my wife (Kim Keon-hee).” Special Prosecutor Min Joong-gi's team deemed these statements false and indicted former President Yoon last December for violating the Public Official Election Act.

The court found that both the remarks regarding the former Yongsan Tax Office chief and those regarding Jeon constituted announcements of false facts. Citing the facts that Yoon himself said “I introduced him” in a 2012 phone call with a Newstapa reporter, acknowledged the very fact of an introduction during his confirmation hearing for prosecutor general, and met and spoke with the former chief multiple times, the court concluded he had in fact been involved in introducing the lawyer.

The court stated, “Considering his personal ties with the former chief and the circumstances indicating an actual introduction of a lawyer, this was an important fact that could influence voters judgments,” adding, “Yoon would also have recognized the falsity, given that he spoke in a manner different from his prior statements.” The defense argument that “the actual introducer was Yoon Dae-jin, and he merely passed along the contact using the name of Yoon Suk-yeol” was not accepted.

Back in 2012, when he was head of the First Investigation Division of the Central Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Yoon was known to have introduced attorney Lee Nam-seok, a junior former prosecutor, to former Yongsan Tax Office chief Yoon Woo-jin. The former chief, the elder brother of Yoon Dae-jin, then head of the High-Tech & Financial Crimes Investigation Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, was under investigation on bribery allegations. At his 2019 National Assembly confirmation hearing for prosecutor general, Yoon said, “That never happened,” but after a Newstapa reporter later released a transcript of the 2012 call, the remark “I told Lee Nam-seok not to tell Dae-jin, and to try meeting Yoon Woo-jin” sparked major controversy.

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was brought to trial for announcing false facts during the 20th presidential election, received a suspended prison sentence in the first trial. If this sentence is finalized, the People Power Party must return to the National Election Commission the 39.7 billion won in election expenses reimbursed during the presidential race. Photo shows the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 27th. Yonhap News

The court also found that the remarks related to Jeon constituted announcements of false facts. It recognized that Yoon had come to know Jeon through Kim around 2013 and had maintained ongoing contact, and that the couple met Jeon together at a temple hall or at his residence. The court further noted that Jeon was not a typical monk but someone who repeatedly gave advice of a divinatory nature.

The court said, “There was little room for mistake because these were experiences the defendant had directly, yet he categorically denied the meetings, given that the shamanism controversy could affect support for the candidate,” concluding that Yoon would also have recognized the falsity of this statement.

The defense argued that the statements could not be regarded as objectively false facts and, having been extemporaneous answers during a candidate debate, were not punishable, but the court rejected this as well.

The court ruled, “In the process of electing the president, the highest public office, the defendant, who was a leading candidate, announced false facts to his own advantage, and the impact on the election is very large,” and, “While it is difficult to conclude that the election result turned solely on this offense, it is sufficient to find that voters correct decision-making was infringed,” and rendered a guilty verdict.

It went on to explain the reasons for sentencing: “The statements about the lawyer made between November 2021 and January 2022 reversed his own prior remarks acknowledging ties with Yoon Woo-jin, and the statements about Jeon Seong-bae portrayed a relationship of repeated advice as if it were a chance introduction during the campaign, so the culpability is not light.”

The Public Official Election Act requires the return of election expenses after an election when a winner receives a finalized election-nullifying penalty of a fine of at least 1 million won for an election crime. In a presidential election, responsibility for the refund lies with the affiliated party. Yoon's side filed an immediate appeal after sentencing, saying, “There are many errors in the first-trial judgment, and we will contest them properly on appeal.”