PPP faces W39.7b repayment risk as Yoon loses election law appeal

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol received a sentence that would void his election win for the second time Wednesday, as a Seoul appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling in his Public Official Election Act case stemming from false statements made during the presidential election campaign. If the conviction and sentence are ultimately confirmed, the People Power Party, of which Yoon was a member, will be required to return 39.7 billion won ($29.6 million) in reimbursed presidential campaign costs to the National Election Commission.

The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 2-1, presided over by judges Baek Seung-yeop, Hwang Seung-tae and Kim Yeong-hyeon, rejected Yoon's appeal Wednesday and upheld the first-trial sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.

"Taking into account the various sentencing factors, it is difficult to conclude that the sentence handed down by the lower court is so excessive as to be unjust," the court said. "This court has reached a final agreement that it is appropriate to respect the lower court's sentencing discretion." The panel added that it would only correct certain clerical errors in the original ruling.

Yoon faces charges of making false statements during the presidential campaign. At a Kwanhun Club debate in December 2021, he denied having introduced attorney Lee Nam-seok to Yoon Woo-jin, the former head of the Yongsan Tax Office and brother of then-prosecutor Yoon Dae-jin, despite having done so. He also faces charges of making false statements to reporters in January 2022, when he denied having met Buddhist shaman Jeon Seong-bae, known as Geonjin Beopsa, multiple times together with his wife Kim Keon Hee, when in fact he had.

The appeals court, like the lower court, found Yoon guilty on both charges.

On the charge related to the attorney referral, the court said Yoon "did publish false facts," adding that "from both a legal and factual standpoint, by saying he had not introduced the attorney, he stated he had never made such an introduction."

The court further said it was "reasonable to conclude that Yoon, having spent many years as a prosecutor handling law and language, was aware that his remarks would be understood by ordinary voters differently from the objective facts."

On the charge related to his denial of meetings with Geonjin Beopsa, the court also ruled that the statement "constitutes publication of false facts." The court reasoned that the People Power Party's campaign at the time needed to quickly contain suspicions about Yoon's involvement with shamanism, and that Yoon "had in fact met Jeon through his spouse's introduction and had sought advice from him on matters including his disciplinary action, demotion and resignation, yet falsely claimed to have met Jeon by chance through a party official's introduction."

Yoon's defense had argued during the trial that "if the first-trial sentence is confirmed, not only will his election win be voided, but the reimbursed campaign costs will have to be returned, threatening the very existence of the entire party — making the sentence excessively harsh and unjust." The court rejected that argument.

"Placing excessive weight on such circumstances would result in resolving a matter belonging to the legislative domain through the rule of law," the court said, adding that "if a sentence were set by attaching undue importance to the gravity of the consequences simply because the trial outcome carries serious ramifications — even though the fairness of the election result was violated — there is a risk that sentencing judgment would be distorted."

The court concluded that Yoon, "as a candidate who had an obligation to provide voters with a proper basis for judgment, violated voters' right to make an informed choice by publishing false facts during the election campaign," and that "given that he has consistently offered excuses from the time of the investigation through the appeals process, it is difficult to find the first-trial sentence unjust."

Throughout the sentencing, Yoon was frequently seen leaning over to whisper with the defense attorney seated beside him. Yoon mostly stared straight ahead but let out a hollow laugh when the court declared that the statements "constitute publication of false facts." After the ruling was delivered, supporters in the public gallery shouted in protest, crying out "Is this justice?" before being restrained by court officers.

Immediately after the ruling, Yoon's legal team expressed "deep regret over a ruling that treats political rebuttals as subject to criminal punishment" and announced it would appeal to the Supreme Court.

The case will now proceed to the Supreme Court for a final ruling.

Under the Public Official Election Act, a presidential candidate who wins an election is entitled to full reimbursement of campaign costs from the National Election Commission. However, if a conviction carrying a fine of 1 million won or more is subsequently confirmed for an election-related offense, the candidate's election win is voided under the act and the candidate's party must return the reimbursed campaign costs. Should the appeals court ruling stand as final, the People Power Party would be required to return 39.7 billion won.