Seoul appeals court to rule in ex-President Yoon's free opinion poll case

Seoul High Court Criminal Division 7, presided over by Judge Koo Hoe-geun, was scheduled to deliver its appellate verdict at 2 p.m. on Oct 7 in the political funds case against former President Yoon Suk Yeol and political broker Myung Tae-kyun. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]

Yoon was indicted on charges of conspiring with his wife, Kim Keon-hee, to receive 58 free opinion polls from Myung. Business outlets put the value of the polls at about 270 million won. Yonhap, NoCut News and Kyunghyang Shinmun give the period of the alleged provision as June 2021 to March 2022, while Seoul Economic Daily gives the start as April 2021. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]

The first-instance court, Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 under Judge Lee Jin-kwan, convicted Yoon in July over 14 of the 58 polls, finding an implicit agreement between Yoon, his wife and Myung, and sentenced him to two years in prison with a forfeiture order of about 13.96 million won, a figure Seoul Economic Daily gives as 13.91 million won. Myung was sentenced to one year and six months. The court did not convict Yoon over the other 44 polls, saying it could not conclude they were provided under an agreement because Myung did not deliver them directly. Yonhap reported that the first trial found Yoon exercised influence to secure a party nomination for former lawmaker Kim Young-sun in return. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]

Kim Keon-hee was acquitted in both her first and second trials on the same accusations. Those courts found that Myung provided the polls unilaterally, to expand the business or political influence of his polling institute, Mirae Korea Research Institute, without prior request or consultation, and that exchanging poll results alone did not show the couple conspired to receive them free. Because lower courts differed, the Supreme Court referred her case to its en banc panel; it held a first hearing in late September — Sept 28 according to Seoul Economic Daily, Sept 29 according to NoCut News — without setting a sentencing date. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]

Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the defence position that Myung conducted and delivered the polls on his own for influence and publicity and that Yoon merely received them, and quoted Yoon's closing statement at the first trial: “Politics… from before I declared I would go into politics until I was elected president, I was ahead in almost every opinion poll,” he said, adding that “poll manipulation is something that cannot happen.” [ 6 ]

Prosecutors, working through a special prosecution team, asked the appeal court last month to sentence Yoon to four years in prison and to order forfeiture of 137.2 million won, and to sentence Myung to three years. The requests matched the sentences sought at first instance. [ 2 , 6 ]

Other proceedings linked to the same broker are pending. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, accused of arranging payment for Myung's polling costs, is awaiting an appeal verdict after prosecutors sought one year and six months for him on Oct 2; NoCut News noted he would lose office if a fine of 1 million won or more is finalised. NoCut News also reported that Kim Keon-hee's detention period expires on Oct 31. Separately, Yonhap reported that Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 38-3 was due to hold a first preparatory hearing the same day for former Coast Guard chief Kim Dong-wook and former Coast Guard planning and coordination official Ahn Sung-sik on charges including insurrection-related duties and abuse of authority, over allegations tied to the December 2022 martial law declaration. [ 1 , 5 ]