Yoon and Oh's appeals in Myeong Tae-gyun poll case to begin before same panel; Kim Keon Hee's Unification Church party-entry trial also starts

[Financial News] The appeals trials of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor Oh Se-hoon, both of whom were sentenced at first instance to prison and fines respectively in connection with the so-called "Myeong Tae-gyun case," will begin on the same day. The trial of Kim Keon Hee, who was additionally indicted over allegations that Unification Church members were collectively admitted to the People Power Party, will also get underway.
The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 7, presided over by Koo Hoe-geun, will hold the first hearing in Yoon's appeal on charges of violating the Political Funds Act with political broker Myeong Tae-gyun at 10 a.m. on the 21st.
Yoon was sentenced to two years in prison at first instance on the 13th of last month. Myeong, who was indicted alongside him, received a sentence of one year and six months in prison and was taken into custody at the courthouse.
Yoon was sent to trial on charges that, in collusion with Kim Keon Hee, he received 58 free opinion polls from Myeong, worth a total of 270 million won, from June 2021 through March of the following year. Of those, 36 were published and 22 were unpublished.
The trial court found that Yoon, his wife, and Myeong had an implicit agreement to receive customized opinion polls, and ruled that this amounted to the illegal receipt of political funds. However, it recognized only 14 of the polls as constituting illegal political funds. The remaining 44 were deemed not proven to fall within the scope of the agreement and were therefore acquitted.
The same panel will also handle the first hearing in Oh's appeal on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, scheduled for 2 p.m. the same day.
On the 22nd of last month, Oh was fined 10 million won and ordered to forfeit 21 million won at first instance. Elected officials lose their election if a sentence of imprisonment or a fine of 1 million won or more is finalized for a violation of the Political Funds Act.
Oh was indicted in December last year on charges that, ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, he received poll results from Myeong and had a donor, identified as Kim, pay the survey costs on his behalf through then-chief of staff Kang, a former vice mayor. The trial court acknowledged that some of the opinion polls included in the indictment were commissioned by Oh's side and that the costs were paid by a third party.
Meanwhile, Criminal Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Woo In-seong, will hold the first hearing on charges that Kim Keon Hee, Hak Ja Han, Jeon Seong-bae, former Unification Church chief of staff Jung Won-joo, and former Unification Church World Headquarters chief Yoon Young-ho violated the Political Parties Act.
Kim was additionally indicted by the Special Prosecutor's Team for Kim Kun-hee in November last year on charges that she conspired with Jeon to have Unification Church members collectively join the People Power Party ahead of the party's 2023 convention in order to help a specific candidate win.
The special counsel team believes that Kim and Jeon asked the Unification Church side to bring in members as party members so that their preferred candidate could be elected party leader. Hak Ja Han is also accused of conspiring in November 2022 with Jung, Yoon, and others to promote the entry of church members into the People Power Party.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter