Former Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun Sent Large Sum to 'Fake Kwon Yang-sook', Suspended Prison Sentence Confirmed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The conviction of former Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun (71), who was prosecuted for violating the Public Official Election Act after being deceived by a person impersonating the late former President Roh Moo-hyun's spouse Kwon Yang-sook and handing over a large sum of money, has been finalized.

The Supreme Court's 1st Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sun-soo) announced on the 17th that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing former Mayor Yoon to one year in prison with a two-year probation in the final appeal for violating the Public Official Election Act. The court stated, "There was no error in the lower court's interpretation of the law related to the Public Official Election Act."

Former Mayor Yoon was prosecuted on charges of handing over 450 million won in four installments from December 2017 to January 2018 to a woman named Kim (52), who impersonated Mrs. Kwon, expecting help with the party nomination. Yoon argued that he lent the money out of personal ties with the former president and sympathy for the former first lady, claiming he did not provide the money in expectation of any return.

Both the first and second trial courts rejected Yoon's claims. They viewed the 450 million won given to Kim not as a loan made in good faith but as an attempt to influence the nomination process.

The second trial court ruled, "Kim, under the mistaken belief that she was the former first lady, received money expecting to exercise influence over the Democratic Party's candidate recommendation for the Gwangju mayoral election, and Kim also promised to exercise such influence in return for the money."

Meanwhile, Kim, who received the money from former Mayor Yoon, had her original sentence confirmed, which included four years imprisonment for violating the Public Official Election Act and fraud, and one year and six months imprisonment for attempted fraud and obstruction of business.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.