Prosecution Demands 3-Year Prison Sentence in Appeal for Yoon Seok-yeol's Mother-in-Law in First Trial's '3-Year Imprisonment' Case... Alleged 'Fraudulent Receipt of Long-Term Care Benefits'

On September 28, Choi Eun-soon, the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who was sentenced to prison in the first trial on charges including 'fraudulent receipt of nursing care benefits' and was released on bail after two months, is attending the continued second trial at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The prosecution has requested a three-year prison sentence again in the appellate trial for Choi Eun-soon (74), the mother-in-law of Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, who was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial for illegally establishing a nursing hospital and fraudulently receiving nursing benefits from the National Health Insurance Service.

On the 21st, at the appellate trial decision hearing of Choi held by the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Yoon Kang-yeol, Park Jae-young, Kim Sang-cheol), the prosecution requested the court to "dismiss the defendant's appeal" and maintain the first trial's sentence of three years in prison.

The prosecution emphasized, "Despite the defendant's significant involvement in the crime, she still does not admit her wrongdoing and denies the crime," adding, "It is difficult to see the original sentence as unjust."

In her final argument, Choi's defense attorney stated, "The defendant had no intention to operate the hospital, nor did her accomplices, so it is highly questionable whether this can be considered a conspiracy."

The defense also argued that the sentence given to Choi was excessive compared to the sentences of other related parties who were previously indicted and convicted.

Choi, who did not respond at all to the prosecution's questioning on that day, trailed off when asked by the court if she had any final remarks, indicating agreement with her lawyer's position.

Choi was indicted without detention on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes for illegally establishing a nursing hospital in February 2013 despite not being a medical professional authorized to establish a medical corporation, and fraudulently receiving 2.29 billion KRW in nursing benefits from the National Health Insurance Service until 2015.

Earlier, at the first trial's decision hearing, the prosecution requested a three-year prison sentence for Choi. The court sentenced her to three years in prison as requested by the prosecution and detained her in court. Following the sentence in line with the prosecution's request, only Choi appealed the first trial's verdict. She was released on bail in September and is currently undergoing the appellate trial without detention.

Meanwhile, Choi is also on trial for charges of forging a bank account balance certificate during the land purchase process.

At the decision hearing on charges of forgery and use of forged documents held on the 2nd at the Uijeongbu District Court Criminal Division 8 presided over by Judge Park Se-hwang, the prosecution requested a one-year prison sentence for Choi. The first trial sentencing for Choi's forgery charges is scheduled for the 23rd.

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