Judge Lee Jin-gwan hands down the first guilty verdict in the Myung Tae-gyun case

Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 33 found former President Yoon Suk Yeol guilty in the political funds law violation case, while reaching a different conclusion from the case involving First Lady Kim Keon Hee on the same issue. The court found that there had been an implicit agreement between the former president and his wife and Myung Taekyun regarding the provision of public opinion polls and the exercise of influence over candidate nominations. Of the 58 public opinion polls indicted by the special prosecutor, 14 were recognized as illegal political funds, and the court sentenced former President Yoon to two years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of about 13.96 million won, while sentencing Myung to one year and six months in prison. This ruling drew attention in connection with Chief Judge Lee Jinkwan’s tendency to hand down sentences higher than those sought by prosecutors in cases related to insurrection, among others. In the legal community, the court provided specific grounds for overturning the previous acquittal, but opinions are divided over the trial method and the direction of the judgment. Observers say the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Kim Keon Hee case could also affect related trials going forward.