The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Guide to Chuseok celebrations across Korea

  • 3

    Court rejects arrest warrant for opposition leader Lee over corruption charges

  • 5

    Korea sees record-low births in July

  • 7

    Royal palaces in Seoul offer free access during Chuseok holiday

  • 9

    Hyundai E&C to build upmarket apartment complex in Seoul's Gwanak District

  • 11

    Korea on track to prove esports prowess at Asian Games

  • 13

    Lotte focuses on health care, mobility to spur growth

  • 15

    Teen swimmer Lee Eun-ji shrugs off freak injury to end quarter-century drought in pool

  • 17

    Top prosecutor vows to seek due punishment for Lee through further probe

  • 19

    Samsung SDI to spend $1.97 bil. on 2nd joint US battery plant with Stellantis

  • 2

    Chuseok exodus begins ahead of extended 6-day holiday

  • 4

    INTERVIEWWith '30 Days,' Kang Ha-neul finds new level of comfort in acting

  • 6

    N. Korea decides to expel US soldier Travis King over border crossing

  • 8

    Political battle intensifies after court rejects Lee's arrest warrant

  • 10

    DMZ Open Int'l Music Festival to be held in Goyang in November

  • 12

    Two Koreas trade barbs over nuclear war

  • 14

    Defense ministry launches project to find families of unidentified fallen Korean War soldiers

  • 16

    DPK hails court's rejection of Lee's arrest, demands Yoon's apology

  • 18

    Finance minister expects Korea's exports to rebound as early as October

  • 20

    Travis King in US custody after expulsion by N. Korea: Washington officials

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Fri, September 29, 2023 | 03:06
Politics
Guilty verdict on Moon's aide deals blow to administration's legitimacy
Posted : 2021-07-21 16:21
Updated : 2021-07-22 08:34
Kim Rahn
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo closes his eyes while answering reporters' questions at the entrance to the provincial government building in Changwon, Wednesday, after the Supreme Court confirmed a two-year jail term imposed on him after he was found guilty of online opinion rigging. Yonhap
South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo closes his eyes while answering reporters' questions at the entrance to the provincial government building in Changwon, Wednesday, after the Supreme Court confirmed a two-year jail term imposed on him after he was found guilty of online opinion rigging. Yonhap

Top court confirms South Gyeongsang Province governor's 2-year jail term, strips him of position

By Kim Rahn

The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and two-year prison sentence imposed on South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo for online opinion manipulation, thus stripping him of the governorship and preventing him from running for election to public office for nearly seven years.

The ruling dealt a heavy blow to not only the political career of Kim, one of the closest aides to President Moon Jae-in, but also the entire ruling bloc as the guilty verdict recognized that an attempt to rig public opinion had taken place ahead of the 2017 presidential election.

The court upheld the decision by the district and high courts that sentenced him to two years imprisonment for colluding with a group of bloggers, led by Kim Dong-won who used the ID "Druking," to manipulate public sentiment on web portals such as Naver in favor of the then-liberal opposition candidate Moon ahead of the presidential election.

Druking's group claimed they had shown Kim computer software that could rig the number of "likes" on political comments; while Kim insisted he had not been aware of the software. But the district, high and top courts did not acknowledge Kim's claim.

However, the Supreme Court did uphold a not guilty verdict from the high court on the allegation he offered a consul general position in Sendai, Japan, to an aide of Druking in return for the manipulation.

Kim was not immediately taken into custody after the top court verdict ― his imprisonment is likely to take place in a couple of days following administrative procedures.

Upon the ruling, Kim was removed from his governor position immediately, as an elected public official loses his or her post when a court hands down a jail sentence or heavier penalty for a criminal case.

After the district court ruling in January 2019, he was jailed for 77 days before being given bail. As such, he will be behind bars for over 21 months to serve the remaining term.

He will also be disqualified from running in elections for five years after his prison term ends, according to the Civil Servants Law, so any return to the political arena will not be possible for around seven years.

This will seriously dent the political career of Kim, who had often been called the "next Moon Jae-in" and was expected to take higher positions in the ruling bloc and even run for the presidency someday.

After the verdict, Kim said the legal case was "insufficient" to reveal the truth. "But I'll keep believing that the truth will return someday," he told reporters as he left the provincial government building.

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo closes his eyes while answering reporters' questions at the entrance to the provincial government building in Changwon, Wednesday, after the Supreme Court confirmed a two-year jail term imposed on him after he was found guilty of online opinion rigging. Yonhap
Special counsel Huh Ik-bum, front center, speaks while leaving the Supreme Court in southern Seoul, Wednesday, after the court upheld a jail sentence for South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo over online opinion manipulation. Yonhap

On the other hand, Huh Ik-bum, the special counsel who led the team investigating the case, said, "This court decision is a warning to politicians and people who will engage in elections in the future that they should compete fairly."

While ruling bloc figures expressed regret over the ruling, the opposition has demanded an apology from President Moon and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

"The verdict will continue to do huge damage to the Moon administration's legitimacy," a main opposition People Power Party spokeswoman Hwangbo Seung-hee said in a commentary.

PPP lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo and the minor opposition People's Party head Ahn Cheol-soo, who were rivals of Moon in the 2017 election, also attacked the President.

"If Moon became president through manipulated public opinion, isn't it right for him to make a public apology?" Hong wrote on Facebook, saying Kim was Moon's secretary at the time of the election and thus Moon might have been an accomplice.

Ahn also wrote on Facebook that everyone knows who benefitted the most from the crime committed by Kim and the Druking group. "I urge Moon to apologize to the people of Korea whose right to know the truth has been infringed on by the crime."


Emailrahnita@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
miguel
wooribank
LG
Top 10 Stories
1Guide to Chuseok celebrations across KoreaGuide to Chuseok celebrations across Korea
2Chuseok exodus begins ahead of extended 6-day holiday Chuseok exodus begins ahead of extended 6-day holiday
3Korea sees record-low births in July Korea sees record-low births in July
4Political battle intensifies after court rejects Lee's arrest warrant Political battle intensifies after court rejects Lee's arrest warrant
5Hyundai E&C to build upmarket apartment complex in Seoul's Gwanak District Hyundai E&C to build upmarket apartment complex in Seoul's Gwanak District
6DMZ Open Int'l Music Festival to be held in Goyang in November DMZ Open Int'l Music Festival to be held in Goyang in November
7Korea on track to prove esports prowess at Asian Games Korea on track to prove esports prowess at Asian Games
8Two Koreas trade barbs over nuclear war Two Koreas trade barbs over nuclear war
9Lotte focuses on health care, mobility to spur growth Lotte focuses on health care, mobility to spur growth
10Defense ministry launches project to find families of unidentified fallen Korean War soldiers Defense ministry launches project to find families of unidentified fallen Korean War soldiers
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[INTERVIEW] With '30 Days,' Kang Ha-neul finds new level of comfort in acting INTERVIEWWith '30 Days,' Kang Ha-neul finds new level of comfort in acting
2Rwandan artists bring diversity to Seoul's art scene Rwandan artists bring diversity to Seoul's art scene
3[INTERVIEW] ONEUS returns as 'mermaid prince' INTERVIEWONEUS returns as 'mermaid prince'
4Kep1er unveils 'Magic Hour' with fresh perspective on love Kep1er unveils 'Magic Hour' with fresh perspective on love
5K-pop group Kingdom recalls album cover resembling Quran K-pop group Kingdom recalls album cover resembling Quran
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group