The Supreme Court ruling on Kim Geon-hee's appeal and the first-instance ruling for former President Yoon Suk-yeol are set to draw significant attention to the courts in Seocho-dong this week.
According to legal sources on July 12, the Supreme Court's Second Division, led by Justice Park Young-jae, will deliver its ruling on Kim Geon-hee's appeal at 10:15 a.m. on July 16. She faces charges of violating the Capital Markets Act and the Political Fund Act, as well as allegations of bribery under the Special Act.
Kim has been on trial for her involvement in stock manipulation related to Deutsche Motors, receiving luxury goods from the Unification Church, and obtaining illegal polling results from Nam Tae-kyun. The appellate court overturned some of the first-instance court's not guilty verdicts, finding her guilty of stock manipulation and bribery, sentencing her to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won. However, the court acquitted her of the charges related to Nam. The special prosecutor's team had previously sought a 15-year prison sentence for Kim in both the first and second trials.
At the same time, the Supreme Court's Second Division, presided over by Justice Eom Sang-pil, will also rule on the appeal of Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, who was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to return 100 million won for receiving funds from the Unification Church. If the Supreme Court upholds the original ruling, Kwon will lose his parliamentary seat under the National Assembly Act and the Public Election Act, triggering a by-election in his constituency of Gangneung.
Before Kim's Supreme Court ruling, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33, led by Judge Lee Jin-kwan, will hold a first-instance ruling on July 13 regarding Yoon Suk-yeol's alleged violation of the Political Fund Act. Yoon is accused of receiving free polling services from Nam for his presidential campaign. The special prosecutor's team has sought a four-year prison sentence for Yoon and a three-year sentence for Nam.
On July 15, the first preparatory hearing for the appeal of Yoon Suk-yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who were sentenced to 30 years in prison for leading the 'Pyongyang drone operation' on charges of treason and abuse of power, will take place at the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Judge Yoon Seong-sik. They are accused of conducting military operations to create a pretext for declaring a state of emergency, thereby harming military interests.
Additionally, on July 16, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 13 will also rule on the second-instance case of former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, who is charged with violating the Anti-Corruption Act by receiving a Porsche rental car and seafood from a fake fisheries businessman. Supporters of former President Yoon are expected to gather in large numbers in Seocho-dong this week, heightening tensions both inside and outside the court.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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