According to a report by Yonhap and the Hankook Ilbo, on July 27, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to one year and six months in prison, with a three-year probation period, for violating the Public Offices Election Act.
Yin Xiyue was accused of making false statements at a "Kwon Sun Club" discussion held by the Korean Press Club in December 2021 when he was invited to attend. He claimed that he had never introduced a former lawyer from the Central Investigation Department of the Prosecution Office, Li surname, who served under Yin Yu Zhen (Yin's father), to the investigation for alleged bribery case in 2012.
Yin Xiyue was also accused of lying in an interview on January 17, 2022, claiming that 'he did not meet Master Qian Jin Quanchengpei through any party members, and he never met him with Kim Jianxi.' Quanchengpei is a key suspect in the case involving Kim Jianxi, and he has been accused of bribing Kim Jianxi.
The collegial panel determined that both of Yin Xiyue's statements constituted the crime of disseminating false information.
According to reports, if the judgment finally comes into effect, the largest opposition party in South Korea, the People’s Power Party, will have to return 397 billion won (approximately 183 million yuan) of campaign expenses that were reimbursed during the 20th general election to the Central Election Management Committee.
According to the South Korean ‘Public Office Election Act’, if a person is sentenced to imprisonment or fined more than 1 million Korean won for violating the Act, their election will be invalid, and the campaign expenses previously compensated by the Central Election Management Committee must be returned. In the case of presidential elections, the party that recommends a candidate is responsible for returning the campaign expenses compensation for that candidate.
