'Yoon Mi-hyang Donation Suspicion' Trial... Tax Evasion Allegations Also Emerge

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The court has assigned the trial of Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former director of Justice and Memory, who is accused of embezzlement and violation of the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations related to the accounting and fund management of Justice and Memory and the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdae-hyeop), to a collegiate panel.

According to the Seoul Western District Court on the 20th, although Yoon Mi-hyang’s case is generally handled by a single judge, it was assigned to a collegiate panel due to the complexity of the facts and issues and the significant social impact, following a procedural decision. The procedural decision refers to the process of transferring a case from a single judge to a panel of three judges.

The presiding court is the Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Lee Dae-yeon). Among Yoon’s defense attorneys is Baek Seung-heon, former president of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun). The trial schedule has not yet been set.

Earlier, on the 14th, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Yoon without detention on seven charges including violation of the Act on the Management of Subsidies, fraud, violation of the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations, and embezzlement. A(45), a director of Justice and Memory and executive director of Jeongdae-hyeop, was also indicted as an accomplice on some charges.

Following the disclosure of the prosecution’s charges, there were allegations that Yoon might have committed tax evasion. The prosecution dismissed the accusation that the several hundred million won spent on her daughter’s overseas study was embezzled from Justice and Memory’s funds, stating, “Considering Yoon Mi-hyang’s salary income, lecture fees, other incidental income, and advertising fees from a newspaper run by her spouse, the actual household income was higher than the reported annual income of the couple.” They added, “The approximately 300 million won for overseas study was mostly covered by funds from Yoon Mi-hyang and her spouse, relatives, and criminal compensation money received by Yoon’s spouse.”

The fact that “actual income was higher than reported income” fueled suspicions of tax evasion. Income beyond reported taxable earnings can be considered either ‘non-taxable income’ or ‘tax evasion due to unreported sales.’ Experts believe there is a high possibility that Yoon and her spouse committed tax evasion.

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