Daegu Dong District mayor Yoon Seok-jun loses seat over Political Funds Act violation

[The Financial News] Yoon Seok-jun, Mayor of Dong District, Daegu Metropolitan City, who was fined 2 million won in both the first and second trials ahead of the June 2022 local elections, has now had this ruling finalized by the Supreme Court, resulting in the loss of his seat.
On the 12th, the Supreme Court Third Division, presided over by Justice Noh Gyeong-pil, upheld the lower court ruling that imposed a fine of 2 million won on Yoon for violating the Political Funds Act. Under the Public Official Election Act, an elected official loses their seat if a fine of 1 million won or more is finalized for a violation of the Political Funds Act.
Yoon was indicted in November 2024 on charges of using his personal bank account to receive 26.65 million won and spend the same amount ahead of the June 2022 local elections. The money was found to have been used to send campaign promotional text messages.
In the first trial, the court imposed a fine of 2 million won, finding that his actions were not a mere mistake due to ignorance of the law but showed criminal intent. The appellate court and the Supreme Court likewise held that it was problematic for him to manage the receipt and expenditure of campaign funds through an account other than the officially reported campaign account.
In the second trial, Yoon’s side argued that "the money spent on sending promotional text messages was not raised from a third party but came from funds already held in his personal bank account," and therefore claimed he was not guilty with respect to the "receipt" of campaign funds.
However, the Supreme Court explained, "The lower court was correct in finding that when campaign expenses are paid without going through the officially reported bank account, the receipt and expenditure of campaign funds are deemed to have occurred simultaneously."

hwlee@fnnews.com Lee Hwan-joo Reporter