Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo's Political Career at a Crossroads... Appeal Verdict This Afternoon

Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The appellate court ruling on Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam will be announced on the 6th. Attention is focused on whether the first trial verdict, which imposed a 'political heavy sentence' including removal from office and restriction of eligibility to run for office, will be upheld. Governor Kim is more likely to retain his position only if he is either fully acquitted or found guilty of election law violations but receives a fine of less than 1 million won.

The Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Ham Sang-hoon) will hold the appellate sentencing hearing for Governor Kim at 2 p.m. on the same day and conclude on his guilt or innocence. The charges against Governor Kim involve conspiring with Kim Dong-won, known as "Druking," and his associates to manipulate comment public opinion on portal sites to ensure the election of Moon Jae-in, the Democratic Party candidate in the last presidential election. He is also accused of proposing the Sendai Consul General position to Druking, who had requested the Osaka Consul General post after the election.

The first trial recognized all charges against Governor Kim as guilty, sentencing him to two years in prison for comment manipulation and ordering his detention in court. For violating the Public Official Election Act, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation. Governor Kim has been on bail since April last year and has been undergoing trial without detention.

The key issue in the appeal is whether Governor Kim visited Druking's office on November 9, 2016, and witnessed a demonstration of "King Crab." King Crab is a program capable of bypassing the comment manipulation monitoring system of portal sites, which is illegal in itself. The first trial based its judgment on King Crab log records, concluding that Governor Kim attended the demonstration, which led to his detention in court.

Initially, presiding Judge Cha Moon-ho, who handled Governor Kim's appellate trial, also expressed in court a strong belief that Governor Kim attended the King Crab demonstration. However, Judge Cha was transferred in a court personnel reshuffle in February this year, and the current bench continued the trial. How the current presiding Judge Ham Sang-hoon and Chief Judge Kim Min-ki assess this matter is the primary variable in the verdict on the day.

Another issue is the reverse operation of comments. In fact, the current bench has focused more on the reverse operation than on attendance at the King Crab demonstration. Reverse operation refers to cases where King Crab, developed to create a favorable public opinion for President Moon, instead generated critical public opinion against him. The court previously stated that the reverse operation is "very significant." The special prosecutor team led by Heo Ik-beom and Governor Kim's defense submitted their final opinions on this matter last month.

The appellate ruling on this day is expected to significantly impact not only Governor Kim's political career but also next year's by-elections and the ruling party's presidential race dynamics. Governor Kim is regarded as a "dark horse" capable of breaking the two-horse race between Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party, and Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province. Although the final judgment must be made by the Supreme Court, without resolving judicial risks, his future political activities will inevitably face considerable constraints.

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