Assemblywoman Yang Jeongsuk found not guilty of 'false asset declaration' by Supreme Court final ruling

Independent lawmaker Yang Jeong-suk, who was prosecuted for underreporting her assets during the registration for the 21st general election, was acquitted by the Supreme Court.

According to the legal community on the 13th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) upheld the lower court's ruling that found Yang not guilty of violating the Public Official Election Act. Only a fine of 10 million won was confirmed for the false accusation charge related to suing party officials and reporters for defamation.

Yang Jeong-suk, Independent Lawmaker / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Yang was prosecuted for deliberately omitting her stake in a commercial property in Songpa-gu, held under her younger brother's name, when reporting assets to the Election Commission ahead of the 2020 general election, thereby allegedly making false statements. In addition, she faced false accusation charges for suing party officials and reporters who raised suspicions about four properties held under borrowed names: an apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, an apartment stake in Songpa-gu, and an officetel in Yongsan-gu.

The trial focused on whether Yang truly held the four properties under borrowed names. The first trial court judged that she was the actual owner of all four properties. Accordingly, she was sentenced to a 3 million won fine for violating the Public Official Election Act and an 8-month prison sentence with a 2-year probation for false accusation.

On the other hand, the appellate court ruled that only the officetel in Yongsan-gu was held under a borrowed name, while the others were not. It acquitted her of the Public Official Election Act violation related to the Songpa commercial property and recognized her guilt for the false accusation related to the Yongsan officetel, sentencing her to a 10 million won fine.

The court stated, "It is difficult to see that the defendant solely used the account under her name, and there is no confirmation of payment records for the purchase price." The court also noted the absence of circumstances such as Yang paying gift tax and property tax or possessing the property registration certificates, which would be expected if she held the properties under borrowed names.

Both the prosecution and Yang appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed all appeals, finding no error in the appellate court's judgment. As a result, most of Yang's charges were acquitted, allowing her to retain her seat. A member of the National Assembly loses their seat if a fine of 1 million won or more is confirmed for violating the Public Official Election Act related to the election in which they were elected. If sentenced to imprisonment or higher for other crimes, their eligibility to run is revoked, resulting in loss of the seat.

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