Jung Kyung-shim Guilty Verdict Confirmed, Yoon Says "A Decision Deeply Considered by the Judiciary"

Supreme Court Confirms Jeong Gyeong-sim's 4-Year Prison Sentence and 50 Million Won Fine
Regarding 'Musok Controversy,' States "Connecting It to Public Decision-Making Is Excessive"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is announcing his political pledges at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 27th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, briefly commented on the Supreme Court's final guilty verdict against Jeong Gyeong-sim, the spouse of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and former professor at Dongyang University, saying it was "a decision deeply considered by the judiciary."

On the 27th, Yoon appeared on SBS's 'News Briefing' hosted by Joo Young-jin and said, "As someone who led (the Jeong Gyeong-sim case) and has since retired, I think the verdict is a decision that the judiciary has thoroughly deliberated and deeply considered."

Earlier that day, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) upheld the original sentence that found Jeong guilty of obstruction of business, violations of the Capital Markets Act and the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions, fraud, violation of the Subsidy Management Act, and instructing evidence destruction and concealment, sentencing her to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won. The original court-ordered confiscation of 10.61 million won was also confirmed. The court also ruled that the so-called '7 major specs' used in the admissions of Jeong and Cho's children were all false.

Yoon also addressed allegations related to his family and in-laws. He said, "The reason I entered politics is unrelated to investigations or oppression against my wife," adding, "That is a family matter. Even after two years of thorough investigation by the prosecution, nothing significant has been found so far, so if there is wrongdoing, punishment should follow."

He continued, "If I enter politics, wouldn't the ruling party attack my family allegations even more?" and added, "(My presidential run) has nothing to do with family or personal issues."

When asked by the host about how he would change the Moon Jae-in administration's prosecution reforms, he replied, "The owner of the prosecution is the people, not those in power or personnel authorities," and said, "It is wrong for political power to order the prosecution around. If this is stopped, a people's prosecution will be achieved."

However, he noted, "Continuous education to raise prosecutors' awareness of human rights is necessary."

Regarding the so-called 'shamanism controversy' involving his spouse Kim Geon-hee, he said, "I feel sorry for causing unnecessary misunderstandings," but criticized, "The Democratic Party forms shamanism committees and appoints chairpersons every election, which is really inconsistent."

He added, "Connecting the shamanism controversy to public decision-making itself is an excessive claim."

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