Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who received a suspended prison sentence in the first trial on charges of announcing false information during the 20th presidential election, filed an appeal on the day of the verdict.
Yoon's legal team said on the afternoon of the 27th that it filed a notice of appeal in the case involving violations of the Public Official Election Act, citing misapprehension of facts, misinterpretation of law, and unfair sentencing.
The 21st criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Soon-pyo) sentenced the former president to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. The court found both counts indicted by Special Counsel for Kim Keon-hee to be guilty.
The statements were that in Dec. 2021, when Yoon was a presidential candidate, he said to the effect that he had not introduced a lawyer to former Yongsan Tax Office chief Yoon Woo-jin, and that in Jan. 2022, he said to the effect that he was introduced to Geonjin (Jeon Seong-bae) by a party official and had never met him together with First Lady Kim Keon-hee.
The court viewed the two statements not as mere opinions or slips of the tongue, but as actions that falsely informed voters about facts regarding the candidate's past conduct for the purpose of winning. It added, "While it is difficult to conclude that the election result was determined solely by this offense, it is sufficient to find that voters' proper decision-making was impaired."
Yoon's side argues that political remarks made during a campaign should be assessed by considering the question asked, the context of the remarks, the social context at the time, and the overall meaning as understood by ordinary voters. It maintains that the first trial misapplied the facts and the legal principles of the crime of announcing false information by interpreting only select expressions in a fragmented way.
If the sentence imposed on the former president is finalized, the People Power Party must return about 39.7 billion won, including approximately 39.4 billion won in campaign costs reimbursed by the National Election Commission and a 300 million won deposit that was returned. The Public Official Election Act stipulates that if the invalidation of election for a party-recommended presidential candidate is finalized, the recommending party must return the deposit and the reimbursed campaign expenses.
However, the obligation to return does not arise with only the first-instance sentence. A fine of at least 1 million won must be finalized after the appeals and Supreme Court reviews.