Kweon Seong-dong, sentenced to two years over 100 million won from Unification Church, files appeal

[Financial News] Representative Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party (PPP), who was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from the Unification Church, has appealed the first-instance ruling.
According to the legal community on the 2nd, Kweon’s side filed a notice of appeal on the 28th of last month with the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, which handled his political funds law violation case. After the first-instance sentence, Kweon’s side stated, "We cannot possibly accept the guilty verdict in the first trial," adding, "We will immediately appeal to correct the errors in the ruling."
On the 28th of last month, Kweon was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to forfeit 100 million won. The court explained its sentencing, saying, "The defendant used the financial power of the Unification Church to provide large sums of money to the First Lady, a closest aide to the president, and to Representative Kweon Seong-dong, and in the process embezzled Unification Church funds," and, "Regardless of whether the requests were actually carried out, the offense itself undermined public trust in the fair execution of national policy."
Kweon is accused of receiving 100 million won in cash on January 5, 2022, ahead of the 2022 South Korean presidential election, at a Chinese restaurant in Yeouido from former Unification Church World Mission Headquarters chief Yoon Young-ho. It has also been found that Yoon proposed that Kweon promote the Unification Church’s policies as state policy and help resolve various issues facing the denomination.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter