Trial of Kim Moon-soo over 'pre-candidate business cards' gains momentum..."There was no intent"

The Financial News reported that former People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, who was indicted for handing out business cards to voters while he was still a preliminary candidate in the 2025 South Korean presidential election, denied the charges at his first trial.
On the 22nd, Criminal Agreement Division 35 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Baek Dae-hyun, Chief Judge of the Criminal Division, held the first hearing for Kim on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.
Kim's defense counsel rejected the prosecution's allegations and said they would contest the case on legal grounds. The lawyer stated, "We do not dispute the objective facts, but we intend to challenge whether the acts were carried out for the purpose of winning the election and other aspects of intent," adding, "There was no intent to engage in election campaigning." The defense also indicated it would seek confirmation of similar past cases by requesting a fact-finding inquiry from the National Election Commission (NEC).
The court scheduled the second hearing for March 5.
Kim is accused of distributing preliminary candidate business cards to five people and asking for their support while running in the People Power Party primary ahead of last year's 2025 South Korean presidential election. Prosecutors explained the indictment by saying, "While he was a party primary candidate, on the day before the final party nominee was to be selected, he handed out preliminary candidate business cards to five people inside the reverse ticket gate area and appealed for their support, thereby conducting primary campaigning by a method other than those permitted under the Public Official Election Act."
theknight@fnnews.com Reporter Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter