'Comment Manipulation' Kim Kyung-soo Sentenced to 2 Years in Appeal Trial... Avoids Immediate Imprisonment (2nd Report)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, who was prosecuted on charges of 'manipulating public opinion through comments,' was sentenced to two years in prison in the appellate court. However, he was not detained in court.

The Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Ham Sang-hoon) on the afternoon of the 6th sentenced Kim to two years in prison for the pre-election comment manipulation charges, and acquitted him of the violation of the Public Official Election Act for allegedly offering the position of Consul General in Osaka, Japan, to the Druking group. The first trial court sentenced him to two years in prison for the comment manipulation charges and 10 months in prison with a two-year probation for the Public Official Election Act violation.

However, although the court imposed a prison sentence, it did not detain Governor Kim in court. The court explained, "Since some charges were acquitted in the appellate court and the Public Official Election Act charges were acquitted, we agreed that there was no reason to revoke the defendant's bail." Kim had been granted bail in April last year and had been undergoing trial without detention.

Kim was indicted on charges of conspiring with Kim Dong-won, known as 'Druking,' and his associates to manipulate portal site comment public opinion to ensure the election of Moon Jae-in, the Democratic Party candidate, during the last presidential election. He is also accused of offering the position of Consul General in Sendai to Druking, who had requested the Osaka Consul General post after the election.

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