A South Korean appeals court on Monday upheld a two-year prison sentence for People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong for taking illegal political funds from figures linked to the Unification Church. The court rejected appeals by both Kwon and the special prosecutor, leaving the lower court ruling intact.
The Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 2-1 maintained the original sentence of two years in prison and forfeiture of 100 million won for violating the Political Funds Act.
Kwon was indicted and detained on charges that in January 2022, ahead of the 20th presidential election, he received 100 million won from Yoon Young-ho, a former global headquarters chief of the Unification Church, along with requests for support for the group. The trial court found all charges proven and imposed the two-year term and forfeiture. In the appeal, the special prosecutor sought a four-year sentence.
On the key dispute over admissibility, the appeals court said it was difficult to view the collection and use of evidence as illegal, rejecting the defense claim. It also dismissed the argument that derivative evidence based on illegally obtained material should be excluded, saying it could be used to prove the charges.
The court also agreed with the first ruling on the credibility of Yoon’s statements, saying it was hard to conclude he made false claims to frame Kwon.
Citing KakaoTalk messages and the political circumstances at the time, the court said Kwon’s influence continued. Even if he resigned from an election committee post, the court said it was a temporary step to ease internal party conflict and that the church side still approached him on the premise of his political clout. The court interpreted references in the chats to “Yongsan” as pointing to Yoon Suk Yeol, considering the situation surrounding the relocation of the presidential office at the time.
In sentencing, the court strongly criticized the nature of the offense. It said receiving political funds can go beyond support for political activity and become a means for a specific religious group to gain access to state power, adding that entanglement between politics and religion can threaten the principle of separation of church and state and undermine core democratic values.
The court said Kwon, a five-term lawmaker and prominent politician with constitutional responsibilities, accepted illegal funds, making the crime serious. It noted mitigating factors, including his long public service and lack of a criminal record, but concluded the original sentence was appropriate within the court’s discretion.
Kwon has denied the allegations, saying he met for a meal but did not take money. He also argued key evidence was illegally obtained and that the case was not within the special prosecutor’s mandate, but the appeals court did not accept those claims.
Yoon, who was also tried in the case, was sentenced the previous day in his own appeal to 18 months in prison.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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