Yoon Suk Yeol, the former president, and Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, are facing their first appeal hearings at the Seoul High Court for violations of the Political Fund Law linked to political broker Myung Tae-kyun.
The court's Criminal Division 7, led by Judge Koo Hoe-geun, is set to begin Yoon's appeal hearing at 11 a.m. on August 21. Yoon is accused of conspiring with his spouse, Kim Kun-hee, to receive polling results worth 270 million won from Myung over 58 instances between June 2021 and March 2022 without payment.
In the first trial, the court found Myung guilty for directly delivering the results of 14 polls to Yoon and his wife, sentencing Yoon to two years in prison and Myung to one and a half years. The court determined that there was a sequential and implicit agreement regarding the free provision of polling results, and that Yoon later exerted influence on the People Power Party's candidate management committee at Myung's request.
However, this ruling contrasts with the acquittal of Kim in both the first and second trials on the same charges, drawing attention to the appellate court's upcoming decision.
At 2 p.m. on the same day, the same court will also hear the first appeal of Oh Se-hoon regarding his violations of the Political Fund Law. Oh is accused of commissioning and receiving polling results from Myung ten times before the April 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and having his supporter, businessman Kim Han-jeong, cover 33 million won in costs.
The first trial court imposed a fine of 10 million won and an additional 21 million won in forfeiture, equivalent to a disqualification from office.
Simultaneously, at the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33, Judge Lee Jin-kwan will preside over the trial of Han Duck-soo, the former Prime Minister, regarding charges of neglect of duty and abuse of power. The special prosecutor's team, led by Jo Eun-seok, is expected to present its sentencing recommendations.
Han is accused of refusing to appoint candidates for constitutional judges recommended by the National Assembly after the impeachment of Yoon, and of designating candidates Ham Sang-hoon and Lee Wan-kyu without proper verification, which constitutes abuse of power. The special prosecutor's team believes that Han made these decisions in communication with presidential office personnel, leading to the indictment of former senior secretary Kim and others.
The special prosecutor's team will outline its final opinions and sentencing recommendations for Han, former presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-seok, former civil affairs secretary Kim Joo-hyun, and former public integrity secretary Lee Won-mo, while the defense's final arguments will take place at the next hearing.
Meanwhile, at 10:10 a.m., the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 27 will hold the first trial of Kim Kun-hee, who is accused of collective membership in the Unification Church related to the People Power Party.
The special prosecutor's team believes that Kim requested collective membership for church members by promising support for the Unification Church ahead of the 2023 People Power Party convention. The same court will also conduct a preliminary hearing and bail review for Lee Man-hee, the leader of Shincheonji, who has been indicted for forcing church members to join the party.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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