Yoon Suk Yeol's Appeal Decision This Week After 2-Year Sentence

Political broker Myung Tae-kyun is appealing a two-year prison sentence handed to Yoon Suk Yeol, with a decision expected this week.

According to legal sources on October 5, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7, led by Judge Koo Hoe-geun, will conduct a sentencing hearing on October 7 at 2 p.m. for Yoon and Myung, who are charged with violating political fund laws.

Yoon is accused of receiving 58 public opinion surveys for free from Myung between June 2021 and March 2022, in collusion with his spouse, Kim Geon-hee.

The first trial found Yoon guilty of 14 counts related to the surveys, sentencing him to two years in prison and ordering him to pay a fine of 13.96 million won. Myung received a sentence of one year and six months.

The court determined that there was an implicit agreement between Yoon, his spouse, and Myung regarding the conduct and provision of the surveys. It concluded that even without a prior agreement, Yoon exerted influence to support the nomination of former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun as a form of compensation.

However, the court ruled that the remaining 44 surveys could not be definitively linked to an agreement between Yoon and Myung, as they were not directly provided by Myung.

The special prosecutor's team, led by Min Jung-ki, requested a four-year prison sentence and a fine of 137.2 million won for Yoon during the appeal hearing on September 11. They sought a three-year sentence for Myung.

Previously, Kim Geon-hee was also indicted on similar charges but was acquitted in both the first and second trials. Those courts found that Myung had unilaterally provided the surveys without prior requests or consultations, aiming to expand his business activities or political influence.

As the lower courts reached differing conclusions regarding the allegations against Yoon and Kim, the Supreme Court is currently reviewing Kim's case concerning violations of political fund laws.