Yoon Gets Prison Sentence in Second Election Law Trial; Will PPP Have to Cough Up 39.7 Billion Won?

[Financial News] Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, in the second trial of his case for violating the Public Official Election Act. If a sentence invalidating his election is upheld, the People Power Party (PPP) will have to repay about 39.7 billion won in election reimbursement funds. The PPP, which had breathed a sigh of relief after Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was acquitted in the second trial over allegations of proxy payment for Myeong Tae-gyun’s polling costs, now faces the risk of financial hardship if it has to return the funds. A first-instance ruling is also scheduled for the 18th in the case against Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho, who is accused of obstructing a vote to lift martial law.
On the 4th, the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 2-1 rejected former President Yoon’s appeal at the hearing for his second-trial ruling on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, sentencing him to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, as in the original ruling.
Former President Yoon is accused of publicly stating false information about the bribery case involving former Yongsan Tax Office chief Woo Jin Yun and allegations concerning Jeon Seong-bae, known as Geomjin Bopsa, during the 20th presidential election. At a Kwanhun Club forum on December 14, 2021, Yoon said, “I was not in a position to officially retain him or even introduce him,” although he had introduced attorney Lee Nam-seok in connection with the bribery case involving the former tax office chief. The charges also include making false statements to reporters after a Buddhist Leaders Forum event on January 17, 2022, saying that he had met Jeon through an introduction by a party official and had never met him together with his spouse, Kim Keon Hee. The court found that both statements amounted to the public dissemination of false information.
If a sentence invalidating his election is upheld by the Supreme Court of Korea, the PPP will have to return in full to the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea (NEC) the 39.7 billion won in election expenses it was reimbursed. According to the NEC, the PPP’s assets stood at about 119.8 billion won as of 2024, of which 71.5% was in buildings and land. Its cash and cash-equivalent assets amounted to only about 11.6 billion won. The party will need to raise cash to repay the election funds.
It has been reported that options being discussed for the PPP to repay the election funds include selling its central headquarters or taking out a loan secured against the building. The party paid 48 billion won when it bought the headquarters in July 2020, and its current market value is expected to be even higher. When the first-instance ruling was handed down, PPP officials said, “We are not even considering selling the headquarters,” describing a sale as “a last resort.”
A string of highly consequential rulings now lies ahead for the PPP. Mayor Oh was acquitted in the second trial, but a first-instance ruling is scheduled for this month in the case against Mayor Choo, who was the floor leader during martial law, over allegations that he obstructed the vote to lift it. The special counsel sought a 20-year prison sentence, but the PPP is confident he will be acquitted. A guilty verdict, however, could strengthen the ‘insurrection party’ narrative, making the ruling a major turning point for the PPP as well.
Meanwhile, Park Seong-jun, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said at a briefing that it was “a natural ruling on an election crime that deceived the public and manipulated their choice through lies during the last presidential election.” He added, “It was the PPP that put forward a candidate who distorted the people’s choice with lies,” and demanded that “the PPP immediately apologize to the public and return 39.7 billion won to the people at once.”
[email protected] Lee Hae-ram, Lee Chang-hoon Reporter