By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Rep. Moon Kook-hyun was on the verge of losing his parliamentary seat Sunday after being sentenced to eight months imprisonment months for taking cash in return for giving away a National Assembly seat held by the party under the proportional representation system.
If the Supreme Court upholds the ruling, he will be stripped of his seat.
Moon, chairman of the minor opposition Renewal of Korea Party (ROKP), was indicted on charges of taking a bribe of 600 million won ($406,600) before the April 9 general elections in return for giving Lee Han-jung a proportional representation seat.
He has claimed the money was provided as political funds to support the party.
In convicting Moon, the Seoul Central District Court said his behavior was a major setback to the realization of democracy.
He told a press conference Sunday that he will do his utmost to reveal the truth and hopes for a wise decision from the Supreme Court to which he is appealing, still claiming his innocence.
Lee was also sentenced to three years in prison for bribery reduced to two-and-a-half years on appeal.
The party, created right before the presidential election last December, has only two seats ― held by Moon and Lee ― in the 299-member unicameral legislature.
Moon, who gained popularity while serving as CEO of staple product maker Yuhan-Kimberly with a clean-handed image, unsuccessfully ran in the presidential race, winning 6.1 percent of votes.