Kweon Seong-dong loses lawmaker seat after receiving 100 million won from Unification Church... "Respecting the judiciary's ruling" [Summary]

[Financial News] Kweon Seong-dong, a People Power Party lawmaker accused of receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from the Unification Church, has had his prison sentence finalized and will lose his seat in the National Assembly. Although he was expected to seek a constitutional complaint, Kweon said he respects the judiciary's ruling.
The Second Division of the Supreme Court of Korea, led by Justice Eom Sang-pil, dismissed Kweon's appeal on the 16th and upheld the lower court's sentence of two years in prison for violating the Public Official Election Act.
The bench upheld the lower court's ruling. It explained that there was no error in the lower court's legal reasoning, saying it had not failed to fully examine the case, had not violated logic or the rules of experience, and had not gone beyond the limits of free evaluation of evidence in its interpretation of abuse of authority and causation under charges of obstruction of the exercise of rights through abuse of authority.
As a result, Kweon will lose his seat in the National Assembly. The Public Official Election Act stipulates that if a person is sentenced to a fine of more than 1 million won under the Political Funds Act, they lose their voting rights. Under the National Assembly Act, lawmakers who lose their voting rights automatically lose their seats. In Kweon's case, the two-year prison sentence led to the loss of his voting rights and, in turn, his parliamentary seat.
Kweon is accused of meeting Yoon Young-ho, then head of the Unification Church World Headquarters, at a Chinese restaurant in Yeouido on Jan. 5, 2022, ahead of the 2022 South Korean presidential election, and receiving 100 million won in cash. He is also believed to have been asked by Yoon to help promote the Unification Church's policies as national policy and assist with various church-related issues.
Both the first- and second-trial courts sentenced Kweon to two years in prison. They viewed Yoon Young-ho's act of handing over 100 million won in illegal political funds as part of a two-track effort to influence then-President Yoon Suk-yeol.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Kweon released a statement on social networking service (SNS). He said, "I cannot hide my deep disappointment with the factual findings and application of the law," and added, "However, I will humbly accept the judiciary's final decision." Although attention had focused on whether he would file a constitutional complaint, his acknowledgment appears to have effectively ended the process.


theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter