After a court handed former President Yoon Suk Yeol a suspended prison sentence in the first trial on charges of making false statements during the 20th presidential election, the Democratic Party of Korea sharply criticized the People Power Party, saying "it is now the turn of the People Power Party — which put Yoon, who seized the presidency through lies, forward as its candidate — to be held accountable."
Democratic Party chief spokesperson Kang Jun-hyeon said in a briefing Monday that the first-trial ruling "carries great significance, as the court has made clear that Yoon deceived the public with lies during his candidacy to secure his election and influenced the outcome of the presidential race. A sentence of one year and six months constitutes grounds for invalidating his election, and it has now been proven that Yoon 'was already unfit to be president' even before his impeachment."
Kang also directed sharp words at the People Power Party, saying "if the party is thinking of stalling by claiming it must wait for the second and third trials, or of quietly brushing this off as Yoon's personal fault, that would be a grave miscalculation," and that the party "must immediately apologize to the public and move to return the 39.7 billion won in election expenses reimbursed with taxpayer money."
"That is the only path by which the People Power Party — which produced insurrection ringleader Yoon Suk Yeol — can begin to atone, even slightly, for the wrongs it has committed before the people of South Korea and before history," Kang added.
According to political and legal circles, Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 21, presided over by Judge Jo Sun-pyo, sentenced former President Yoon to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. If the guilty verdict and sentence are upheld, the People Power Party — of which Yoon was a member — will be required to return 39.7 billion won in election expenses to the National Election Commission, reimbursed to the party during that presidential race.
Following the ruling, Yoon's legal team said it believes "there are many errors in the court's judgment" and that it plans "to review the ruling and appeal."
The special prosecutor's team that indicted Yoon — led by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki under the Kim Keon Hee special counsel mandate — said it was "grateful for the court's diligent deliberation."
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