'Publication of Own Opinion Poll' Kim Mun-su Assemblyman Fined 900,000 Won… Maintains Assemblyman Position

[Financial News] Kim Mun-su, a member of the Democratic Party (Jeonnam Suncheon, Gwangyang, Gokseong, Gurye-gap), who was prosecuted for publishing his own opinion poll, has been confirmed to pay a fine of 900,000 won.
The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Chief Justice Park Young-jae) confirmed the original judgment that sentenced Assemblyman Kim to a fine of 900,000 won for violating the Public Official Election Act on the 4th.
If a sentence of 1 million won or more is confirmed, the election is invalidated according to the Public Official Election Act, allowing Assemblyman Kim to maintain his position.
Assemblyman Kim was prosecuted for indirectly publishing the results of his own opinion poll by posting a similar result from another poll on Facebook after conducting his own opinion poll in January last year, ahead of the 4·10 general election.
Assemblyman Kim explained through the post, "The own survey is prohibited from being published, so the figures cannot be disclosed," but added, "Then again, it turned out as expected."
The Public Official Election Act stipulates that no one can publish or report the results of an opinion poll conducted by a party or candidate concerning the election until the closing time of voting on election day.
The first trial and the second trial both sentenced Assemblyman Kim to a fine of 900,000 won.
The second trial court ruled, "It corresponds to the publication of the results of an election-related opinion poll conducted by a person who wants to become a candidate, which is prohibited by the Public Official Election Act."
It further stated, "Even if the defendant did not know that his actions violated the provisions of the Public Official Election Act, this is merely similar to ignorance of the law," and "It is difficult to see that there was no awareness of illegality or that there was a justifiable reason for not recognizing the illegality."
Assemblyman Kim appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, stating, "There is no error in the judgment of the original trial that violated the principles of logic and experience, exceeded the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misunderstood the legal principles concerning the establishment of the crime of violating the Public Official Election Act."

jisseo@fnnews.com Seo Min-ji Reporter