A suspended prison sentence has been finalized for a former manager at the campaign office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Shin Young-dae (Gunsan·Gimje·Buan A, North Jeolla), who is accused of falsifying opinion poll results during the party primary process ahead of the 2024 general election.
Under the Public Official Election Act, if a prison sentence is finalized for a campaign manager's election crime, the election of the corresponding lawmaker is void. Shin will lose the seat.
The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Shin Sook-hee) on the 8th upheld a lower court ruling sentencing a former manager at Shin's campaign office, a person surnamed Kang who was indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, to one year in prison, suspended for two years. A person surnamed Shim, a legislative aide to Shin and a co-conspirator, also received the same finalized sentence as in the lower court: one year and four months in prison.
Kang was indicted on charges of giving 15 million won and 100 mobile phones around Dec. 2023 to a person surnamed Lee, then secretary-general of the Gunsan Sports Association for the Disabled, and inducing false responses in the Democratic Party of Korea's primary opinion poll for Gunsan·Gimje·Buan A in North Jeolla.
As a result of the primary, Shin narrowly defeated former lawmaker Kim Ui-gyeom by within 1 percentage point and won the nomination in Mar. 2024.
The first trial court called it "a serious crime that undermined the fairness of the election," sentencing Kang to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and 120 hours of community service. Kang and others appealed, but the appeals court and the Supreme Court maintained the same sentence.