Prosecution Requests 3 Million Won Fine for Choi Kang-wook in First Trial for 'Violation of Public Official Election Act'... 'Disqualification from Election'

Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, who is accused of disseminating false information related to the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk ahead of the April 15 general election last year, is attending the first trial sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution has requested a fine of 3 million KRW for Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, who was indicted for spreading false information during the election campaign for the April 15 general election last year.

On the 4th, at the sentencing hearing held by the Criminal Division 21-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Sang-yeon), the prosecution asked the court to impose a fine of 3 million KRW on Choi, who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act. If Choi, who was elected as a proportional representative in the last general election, receives a confirmed fine of 1 million KRW or more for violating the Public Official Election Act, he will lose his seat as a member of the National Assembly.

Choi, who ran as a proportional representative in the April 15 general election last year, was put on trial for violating the Public Official Election Act after making statements on a podcast before the election suggesting that Jo, the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, had actually interned, in relation to allegations that Jo submitted a false internship confirmation letter from a law firm, thereby obstructing graduate school admissions. At that time, Choi was also separately indicted on charges of obstruction of business and was undergoing a first trial.

In court that day, a procedure to renew arguments confirming the positions of both the prosecution and the defendant was conducted. This was because on the 21st of last month, Judge Kim Miri took sick leave and went on leave, and Judge Ma Seong-yeong was newly assigned to the trial division in charge.

The part where Choi made the statement on the podcast was replayed again. In the broadcast, Choi said, "(Former Minister Cho’s son) interned since high school. He came to the law firm since middle school, and I gave him experiential activity homework from then," adding, "The prosecution conducted 'prosecutorial politics' against me, who was in the Blue House Civil Affairs Office, ahead of the prosecution's senior personnel reshuffle."

Afterwards, the prosecution conducted the defendant’s examination of Choi. However, Choi exercised his right to remain silent on most of the more than 80 questions asked by the prosecution, stating, "I will not testify," or "It is clear that the prosecutor’s intention is to form a prejudice in the court."

The prosecution argued, "The defendant was frequently mentioned as number 2 on the Open Democratic Party’s proportional representation list and acknowledged the possibility of winning," and "The false statements were not made out of necessity in response to the host’s questions but to increase support rates." They emphasized, "In a representative democracy where the people elect representatives to do politics on their behalf, it is important that public opinion is reflected without distortion," and "Lies that prevent voters from making the right choice must be blocked."

On the other hand, Choi’s defense attorney argued, "There have been many candidates who ran for most public offices while being criminally indicted," and "Candidates naturally made statements asserting their innocence." It is difficult to find precedents where a candidate was indicted for false information disclosure under the Public Official Election Act after making statements asserting innocence regarding charges against them, and the prosecution selectively indicting only Choi is an abuse of prosecution rights.

Choi also criticized in his final statement, "The prosecution is framing and slandering me as if I appeared on the broadcast with the intention of deceiving voters from the beginning and spreading false information. That is not true at all," adding, "Selective and retaliatory prosecutions are repeated, as my lawyer mentioned. The same matter was prosecuted as obstruction of business and as a violation of the election law."

In particular, Choi repeatedly claimed that "former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is behind the case." He said, "I think people can sufficiently guess the inner intentions and motives behind why the Prosecutor General paid so much attention to this case and tried to mislead the court by bringing in other cases," and "It has been revealed through the media who gave the orders."

After leaving the courtroom, he told reporters, "I apologized for causing trouble to many people," and continued his remarks targeting former Prosecutor General Yoon, saying, "I want to ask those who wasted time whether they think they have fully achieved their intended purpose." He also said, "The news is probably reporting that I was fined 3 million KRW and that a disqualification sentence was requested," and "They probably think they have sufficiently hurt and defamed me through that."

He added, "What is the former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who started this case, doing now?" and "Doesn’t his subsequent behavior prove what he was so dedicated to, ignoring the investigation team’s opinions?"

He further stated, "I believe the court will make a wise judgment regarding this political attitude and political agitation, and I will wait for the sentencing date."

The sentencing hearing for Choi is scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on the 8th of next month.

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