Special Prosecutors Seek 4-Year Prison Sentence for Yoon over Illegal Receipt of Opinion Polls

Yonhap News

The special prosecution team led by Min Jungki has requested a four-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been indicted on charges of receiving opinion polls free of charge from so-called "political broker" Myung Tae-gyun.

On May 12, at the sentencing hearing for the political fund law violation case involving former President Yoon and Mr. Myung, held at the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (presiding judge: Lee Jin-gwan), the special prosecutors asked the court to "sentence the defendant to four years in prison and impose a fine of 137.2 million won."

The special prosecution team stated, "This crime is a grave offense in which political power and money colluded, undermining the fairness of representative democracy and party nominations. Former President Yoon used his strong position as a leading candidate to accept a large number of opinion polls and, in return, substantially intervened in party nominations, thereby damaging party democracy."

Regarding former President Yoon's denial that he received opinion polls from Mr. Myung or ever requested nominations, the special prosecutors countered, "It has also been confirmed that former President Yoon and his wife called Mr. Myung regarding Kim Young Sun, a former lawmaker from the People Power Party." They continued, "During the special investigation, the defendant made implausible claims such as 'I didn't know Mr. Myung was conducting opinion polls,' and has shown no remorse."

The prosecution also requested a three-year prison sentence for Mr. Myung, who was indicted on the same charges. The special prosecution team pointed out, "The opinion polls Mr. Myung provided to former President Yoon and his wife amounted to over 270 million won, which is a significant sum. He committed repeated offenses for the benefit of the president, making the nature of his crimes particularly egregious."

In the final defense, former President Yoon's side emphasized that Kim Keon Hee was acquitted of similar political fund law charges on appeal. The defense attorney argued, "On April 28, the defendant's spouse (Kim Keon Hee) was acquitted in the appellate trial on the charge of violating the Political Funds Act, and the issues in that case are identical to those in the present case. Therefore, the defendant should also be found not guilty."

The defense also claimed, "The defendant never requested any opinion poll from Mr. Myung. The delivery of the poll results was merely part of Mr. Myung’s business practice, and the defendant and his spouse were just among the many recipients of the results of opinion polls conducted by Mr. Myung. There is no evidence anywhere that the defendant requested an opinion poll from Mr. Myung or promised any consideration in return."

In his final statement, former President Yoon said, "I believe it defies common sense to indict a presidential candidate and their spouse based on the idea that they commissioned opinion polls personally. This is evidently a politically motivated prosecution." He also reiterated his previous position, saying, "I never intervened in the nomination of Kim Young Sun, nor did I speak with Assemblyman Yoon Sang Hyun."

Former President Yoon is accused of conspiring with Kim Keon Hee to receive a total of 58 opinion polls worth approximately 270 million won from Mr. Myung free of charge between April 2021 and March 2022. The special prosecution team believes that, in return, former President Yoon promised Mr. Myung the nomination of Kim Young Sun, a former lawmaker from the People Power Party.

The special prosecution team had separately indicted Kim Keon Hee for conspiring with former President Yoon to receive opinion polls from Mr. Myung, but she was acquitted in both the first trial and, as of April 28, the appellate trial. The court ruled that, since Mr. Myung had provided opinion polls not only to the couple but also to many others, it could not be concluded that the couple had obtained a financial benefit. Both Kim Keon Hee and the special prosecutors have appealed the decision.

The sentencing is scheduled for June 23 at 2:00 p.m.

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