'Druking Comment Manipulation' Kim Kyung-soo, Will He Be Released... Parole Review Committee This Afternoon

Former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, sentenced to 2 years in prison for involvement in the 'Druking comment manipulation' case [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, who is serving time for the 'Druking Comment Manipulation Case,' will be reviewed on the 23rd to determine his eligibility for parole.

The Ministry of Justice will hold a parole review committee meeting at 4:30 PM that day. It is reported that former Governor Kim is also included among the candidates for review.

Our law stipulates that inmates who have served more than one-third of their sentence are eligible for parole. To select preliminary candidates for parole review, the Ministry of Justice classifies inmates into seven types based on their behavior during incarceration, type of crime, health condition, and other factors. These are further subdivided by security treatment level and recidivism prediction index grade, applying an individual sentence execution rate of 50?90% per inmate.

Former Governor Kim has served more than 70% of his sentence, making him eligible for parole review. He was also listed as a candidate for review last September, but the parole review committee judged him 'ineligible,' resulting in no release. Last month, he was excluded from the list of candidates for review.

Former Governor Kim was prosecuted on charges of conspiring with Kim Dong-won, known as 'Druking,' and his associates to manipulate public opinion from late 2016 to help then Democratic Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in win the election. In January 2019, he was sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial and was taken into custody in court. He was released on bail after 77 days but was re-incarcerated at Changwon Prison last July after the Supreme Court finalized his sentence.

Kim's sentence is scheduled to end on May 4 next year. Even if parole is granted and he is released, Kim will be deprived of his eligibility to run for office until May 2028, five years after completing the execution of his two-year prison term, and thus cannot run in any elections during that period.

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