Kwon Seongdong Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison in Appeal for Receiving 100 Million Won from Unification Church

Court: "Collusion Between Politics and Religion Gravely Violates Constitutional Values
Original Sentence Appropriate"

Assemblyman Kwon Seongdong of the People Power Party, who was indicted on charges of receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church, was sentenced to two years in prison in the appellate trial, the same sentence handed down in the first trial.

On April 28, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 2-1 (Presiding Judges Baek Seungyeop, Hwang Seungtae, and Kim Younghyun) sentenced Kwon, who was prosecuted for violating the Political Funds Act, to two years in prison and a forfeiture of 100 million won, identical to the first trial. The court dismissed the appeals by both Kwon and the special prosecutor's team.

Kwon was brought to trial on charges of receiving 100 million won in cash from Yoon Youngho, former head of the Unification Church World Headquarters, in January 2022, just before the 20th presidential election, in exchange for a request to support the religious group.

Kwon’s side had argued that this case exceeded the scope of the special prosecutor’s investigation and that evidence obtained through search and seizure was collected unlawfully and therefore could not be used to convict him. However, the court stated, "The facts of this case fall under the scope of investigation according to Article 2, Item 3 of the revised Kim Kunhee Special Prosecutor Act, and the evidence obtained through search and seizure is admissible as circumstantial evidence to prove the motive and means of the crime," thus rejecting Kwon's arguments.

The court also rejected Kwon’s claim that Yoon falsely accused him in order to evade his own embezzlement charges. The court explained, "It is confirmed through KakaoTalk conversations and other evidence that Yoon believed Kwon would continue to wield political influence even after resigning as party secretary-general at the time of the presidential election," and added, "Given the ripple effects and criminal liability of the funds delivered, it is difficult to regard Yoon's statements as false accusations intended to frame the defendant."

The court stated, "The collusion between political power and a specific religion severely violates the constitutional value of the separation of church and state, making the nature of the crime extremely serious. As a five-term senior lawmaker, it is inevitable that Kwon faces strict punishment corresponding to his failure to uphold his constitutional duty." However, the court added, "The sentencing discretion exercised in the first trial, considering factors such as Kwon's 30 years of contribution to the nation as a public official and his lack of a prior criminal record, falls within a reasonable range."

Previously, the first trial found Kwon guilty of all charges and sentenced him to two years in prison. Both Kwon and the special prosecutor’s team appealed the verdict. During the sentencing hearing of the appellate trial, the special prosecutor’s team, as in the first trial, requested a four-year prison sentence.

Meanwhile, Yoon, who was indicted on charges of delivering money and valuables to Kwon and First Lady Kim Keonhee for the purpose of lobbying on Unification Church matters, was sentenced the previous day in the appellate trial to one year and six months in prison, an increase of four months compared to the first trial.

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