‘Lee Jae-myung Support Election Campaign’ An Bu-su, Chairman of APTH, Acquitted by Supreme Court

Anbusu, President of the Asia-Pacific Association, Acquitted by Supreme Court

Yonhap News

The acquittal of Ahn Bu-su, president of the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association (APPEA), who was indicted for organizing illegal pre-election campaign activities to support Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the last presidential election, has been finalized.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Kwon Young-joon) upheld the lower court's verdict acquitting Ahn, who was charged with violating the Public Official Election Act.

Ahn and five other executives of APPEA were prosecuted for establishing and operating a forum-type private organization responsible for election campaigning in the Daejeon and Chungnam regions from late December 2021 to early January 2022, aiming to secure Lee's victory in the 20th presidential election.

Both the first and second trial courts acquitted Ahn and all other defendants.

The first trial court stated, "Election campaigning is permitted even before the official election period, but the offline meeting called the inaugural general assembly was problematic. Considering past Supreme Court precedents, separate meetings accompanying internet activities should not be regarded as such. Even if meetings occurred, given that the defendants' activities were limited to support within internet chat rooms, it is difficult to conclude that they conducted election campaigning using the forum."

The second trial court ruled, "The forum cannot be considered a private organization as defined by the Public Official Election Act, separate from overall internet activities. It is also difficult to view it as a private organization established for offline election purposes, making it hard to determine that the defendants engaged in organized or collective activities."

The Supreme Court's judgment was consistent. It ruled, "There is no error in the lower court's acquittal decision in terms of violating the rules of logic and experience, exceeding the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterpreting the legal principles regarding the establishment of the offense under the Public Official Election Act."