Appeals court to rule on ex-President Yoon's high-stakes election law case
Summary
The Seoul High Court was scheduled to rule Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Seoul on former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s election law case over statements made during his 2022 presidential campaign. A district court sentenced Yoon to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty. If the sentence is finalized, his election will be nullified and the People Power Party must return 39.7 billion won in reimbursed campaign expenses. The hearing was to be televised live.
Key Facts
- The election law provides full reimbursement of campaign spending when a candidate wins at least 15 percent of the vote.
- Parties must return reimbursed funds if their candidate receives a finalized prison sentence or a fine of at least 1 million won for an election law violation.
- One allegation concerns Yoon’s December 2021 claim that he had not introduced a lawyer to a former tax official.
- Another allegation concerns Yoon’s January 2022 interview statements about being introduced to shaman Jeon Seong-bae by a party official and whether Yoon and Kim Keon Hee had met Jeon together.
- Yoon was sentenced to life in prison in February for leading an insurrection through his December 2024 martial law bid, and that case was under appellate review.
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during his insurrection trial at the Seoul Central District Court, Dec. 29, 2025. Courtesy of Seoul Central District Court
An appeals court was set to rule Wednesday on former President Yoon Suk Yeol's election law violation case in a ruling that could force the main opposition party to cough up nearly $30 million in election expenses, if finalized.
The Seoul High Court was scheduled to hold the hearing at 2 p.m., which will be televised live, over allegations that Yoon made false statements during his presidential campaign as a candidate for the PPP before his March 2022 election.
A district court sentenced Yoon to an 18-month prison term, suspended for three years, in July after finding him guilty of the charges.
If the sentence is finalized through appeals, Yoon's election will be nullified and the People Power Party will be forced to return its reimbursed election expenses of 39.7 billion won ($29.5 million).
Under the election law, the state fully reimburses political parties for campaign spending if their candidate wins at least 15 percent of the vote.
Parties, however, must return all reimbursed funds if the candidate receives a finalized prison sentence or a fine of at least 1 million won for election law violations — a penalty that also voids their election.
Yoon was charged with falsely claiming during a December 2021 press event that he had not introduced a lawyer to a former tax official — a brother of Yoon's close associate when he was a prosecutor.
He also faces charges of lying in a January 2022 interview by claiming that a party official had introduced him to shaman Jeon Seong-bae while denying that he and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, had met Jeon together.
The jailed former president has been standing multiple criminal trials since his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024 and his subsequent ouster from office.
A district court sentenced him to life in prison in February for leading an insurrection through his martial law bid. That trial is currently under review by an appellate court.
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