Cheonan Mayor Park Sangdon Appeals Again Against Remand Verdict for Election Law Violation

Appeal Filed with Daejeon High Court on the 22nd

On the 17th, Park Sangdon, mayor of Cheonan City, was waiting on the road for a vehicle after being sentenced to a disqualification from election in the retrial.

Park Sangdon, the Mayor of Cheonan from the People Power Party, who was sentenced to forfeiture of his position in a retrial after being prosecuted for violating the Public Official Election Act, has filed an appeal.

According to the legal community on the 22nd, it was confirmed that he submitted an appeal to the Daejeon High Court through his legal representative that afternoon.

Mayor Park was brought to trial on charges of using his official position to campaign in the 8th nationwide local elections in 2022, and for omitting the population standard while listing the city's unemployment and employment rates in campaign materials.

The first trial court acquitted Mayor Park, but the appellate court judged that he was negligently intentional in failing to fulfill his duty to verify and sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 2 years.

The Supreme Court also considered that Mayor Park was not aware of the omission of the population standard and overturned the previous ruling in part, sending the case back to the Daejeon High Court for retrial.

In the retrial, the court ruled on the 17th, "According to legal principles, parts confirmed by the Supreme Court cannot be reconsidered even if new arguments are presented," and added, "For the charge of using public officials for electioneering, only a prison sentence can be imposed." Park was sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for 2 years.

Meanwhile, if an elected official is confirmed guilty of this charge with a fine of 1 million won or more, they will lose their position.

If the Supreme Court finalizes the sentence by the 28th of next month, a by-election for the Cheonan mayoral position will be held on April 2.

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