Appeal Against First Trial Verdict of Choi Kang-wook for 'Violation of Public Official Election Act'

Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, who was prosecuted for writing a false internship confirmation letter for the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and denying the allegations with false explanations during the election campaign, is leaving the Seoul Central District Court after being sentenced to a fine of 800,000 won in the first trial on the 8th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, who was indicted and sentenced to a fine for making false statements during last year's general election period despite having written a false internship confirmation letter for the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, has appealed the first trial verdict.

According to the legal community on the 11th, Choi's legal representative filed an appeal with the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-2 (Presiding Judges Kim Sang-yeon, Jang Yong-beom, Ma Seong-young) against the first trial verdict that sentenced him to a fine of 800,000 won.

Choi is accused of falsely stating on an internet podcast broadcast ahead of the April 15 general election last year that the allegation of having written a false internship confirmation letter for the son of former Minister Cho Kuk was untrue.

At the time of the broadcast, Choi was undergoing a first trial for obstruction of business for having written a false internship confirmation letter for the son of former Minister Cho, thereby interfering with graduate school admissions.

On the podcast, he said, "He (the son of former Minister Cho) has been doing (internship activities) since high school," and the prosecution judged this statement as false information intended to influence the election, leading to his prosecution.

Earlier, on the 8th, the first trial court recognized all charges against Choi as guilty and sentenced him to a fine of 800,000 won. According to the Public Official Election Act, a lawmaker is disqualified if sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for election law violations. Since Choi was sentenced to a fine of 800,000 won, even if the sentence is finalized, he will not lose his parliamentary seat.

The court also repeatedly judged the internship confirmation letter written by Choi for the son of former Minister Cho as false, following a similar judgment in January.

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