Special counsel urges appeals court to uphold Yoon's election law conviction

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SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Tuesday asked the Seoul High Court to uphold a lower court's conviction of former President Yoon Suk Yeol for violating the election law, a ruling that, if finalized, would invalidate his 2022 presidential election and force his former ruling party to cough up nearly 40 billion won (US$29.8 million).

Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team made the request during a hearing at the appeals court, urging it to dismiss Yoon's appeal. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Oct. 27.

In late July, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to a 1 1/2-year prison term, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of making false statements as the People Power Party (PPP)'s presidential candidate ahead of the election in March 2022.

Yoon was indicted for falsely claiming during a 2021 press event that he had never introduced a lawyer to a former tax official.

Yoon was also accused of lying in an interview in January 2022, claiming that a party official had introduced him to shaman Jeon Seong-bae and denying that he had met Jeon together with his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

The court found Yoon guilty on both charges, accepting the special counsel's argument that Yoon had in fact introduced the lawyer to the former tax official and had met Jeon through his wife's introduction.

If the verdict is finalized through appeals, Yoon's election as president will be invalidated and the PPP will be forced to return 39.7 billion won it was reimbursed in campaign expenses by the election watchdog after Yoon's victory in the 2022 election.

Under the election law, political parties are reimbursed for campaign expenses if their presidential candidate receives at least 15 percent of the vote. They must, however, return the funds if their candidates receive a finalized sentence of a fine of 1 million won or greater for election law violations.

Yoon maintained his innocence in his closing statement, arguing that his past remarks cited by the special counsel's team were not false.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol (Yonhap)

Special counsel urges appeals court to uphold Yoon's election law conviction

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首尔，10 月 13 日（韩联社）——周二，一个特别检察官小组要求首尔高等法院维持下级法院对前总统尹锡烈违反选举法的定罪。如果该裁决最终生效，尹锡烈 2022 年的总统选举结果将无效，并迫使其前执政党支付近 400 亿韩元（约合 2980 万美元）的罚款。

特别检察官闵仲基的团队在上诉法院的听证会上提出请求，敦促法院驳回尹某的上诉。量刑听证会定于10月27日下午2点举行。

7 月下旬，首尔中央地方法院判处尹某有期徒刑 1 年半，缓刑 3 年，罪名是他在 2022 年 3 月的总统选举前作为国民力量党（PPP）总统候选人发表虚假声明。

尹某被指控在 2021 年的一次新闻发布会上谎称自己从未向一名税务官员介绍过律师。

尹某还被指控在 2022 年 1 月的一次采访中撒谎，声称是一位党政官员介绍他认识了巫师全成培，并否认他曾与妻子金建熙一起见过全成培。

法院认定尹某两项指控均成立，接受了特别检察官的论点，即尹某实际上是将律师介绍给了这位前税务官员，并且是通过妻子的介绍认识了全某。

如果上诉最终维持原判，尹锡悦当选总统的资格将被取消，人民进步党将被迫退还选举监督机构在尹锡悦赢得 2022 年总统大选后报销的 397 亿韩元竞选费用。

根据选举法，如果总统候选人获得至少15%的选票，政党可以获得竞选经费补偿。但是，如果候选人因违反选举法而被处以100万韩元或以上的罚款，则必须退还这笔资金。

尹在结案陈词中坚称自己无罪，并辩称特别检察官团队引用的他过去的言论并非虚假。

前总统尹锡烈（韩联社）

特别检察官敦促上诉法院维持尹某违反选举法的判决。