Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party, who was brought to trial on charges of receiving illegal political funds worth 100 million won from the Unification Church, was sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial.
The 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong) on the 28th sentenced Kweon, who was arrested and indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, to two years in prison and ordered a forfeiture of 100 million won. If the sentence handed down in the first trial is finalized, Kweon will lose his parliamentary seat and face restrictions on his eligibility to run for office.
The court found Kweon guilty of receiving 100 million won on Jan. 5, 2022, from former Unification Church world headquarters head Yun Young-ho along with a request for support for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's denomination. The indictment included the purport that, ahead of the 20th presidential election, Yun delivered the money at the direction of Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja.
Kweon's side argued that the special prosecutor violated the "principle of a single indictment" by including content in the indictment that was not directly related to the facts of the crime, and that the case itself was not subject to investigation under the special prosecutor law, but the court did not accept this. The principle of a single indictment refers to the rule that, to avoid prejudice about the defendant's guilt or innocence, only content directly related to the facts of the crime should be stated in a single indictment.
Regarding the reasons for sentencing, the court said, "As a member of the National Assembly, one must perform duties by prioritizing the national interest based on the constitutional duty of integrity and according to conscience," adding, "The defendant's crime betrayed the public's expectations and constitutional duty." The court continued, "As a legal expert who served as a prosecutor for 15 years and later as chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the defendant would have known the legal meaning of his actions," and said, "Even so, he denied the charges from the outset of the investigation, which warrants strong criticism."
However, the court explained, "However, it does not appear that the defendant actively demanded money from former headquarters head Yun, and the facts that he has served in public office for 30 years and worked for the people, and that he has no particular criminal record, were considered favorable factors in sentencing."