The Supreme Court's full bench, presided over by Justice Park Young-jae, is set to hold a second hearing regarding the allegations against Kim Geon-hee. As her detention period nears its end at the end of this month, attention is focused on the court's ruling regarding whether the free public opinion surveys fall under the Political Funds Act.
According to legal sources on the 15th, the Supreme Court's full bench will convene on the 22nd to hear the appeal concerning Kim's alleged violations of the Capital Markets Act, Political Funds Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery). This will be the second hearing since the first one on September 29. A date for the ruling has not yet been set.
The case involves allegations of stock manipulation related to Deutsche Motors, the provision of free public opinion surveys by political broker Myung Tae-kyun, and suspicions of receiving money from the Unification Church. A key issue is whether conducting public opinion surveys for free or providing their results constitutes a donation of political funds prohibited by law.
Kim is accused of receiving a total of 274.4 million won worth of free public opinion surveys from Myung on 58 occasions between June 2021 and March 2022, in collusion with former President Yoon Suk-yeol. She was acquitted in both the first and second trials.
The Supreme Court had initially planned to deliver a ruling in July but postponed it after Yoon was found guilty in the first trial on similar charges. The case was subsequently referred to the full bench for further deliberation.
Recently, Yoon's appeal trial also concluded with a not guilty verdict, prompting Kim's legal team to submit a request to the Supreme Court to consider this ruling.
On October 7, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7, led by Judge Koo Hoe-geun, acquitted both Yoon and Myung of violating the Political Funds Act. The court deliberated whether the political benefits gained from providing public opinion surveys could be considered financial benefits under the Political Funds Act and whether there was mutual agreement between the parties regarding the provision of the surveys.
The appellate court found no evidence of an agreement between Yoon and Myung regarding the conduct or free provision of the surveys. It noted that the polling company conducted the surveys independently, and only some results were shared with Yoon and his wife, while others were provided to different individuals.
However, the scheduling of an additional hearing does not necessarily indicate a split among the justices or that a ruling will be delayed beyond this month. The full bench hearing is a private procedure where the Chief Justice and justices discuss legal issues and conclusions, and the specific details of their agreement are not disclosed.
Kim's detention period is set to expire on the 31st. The special prosecutor's team, led by Min Jung-ki, is considering filing an additional arrest warrant in a separate case involving 'buying and selling positions' if a ruling is not made by the deadline.
Thus, whether Kim remains in custody will depend on the timing of the full bench's ruling and the potential for an additional arrest in the separate case.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.