SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Tuesday asked the Seoul High Court to uphold a lower court's conviction of former President Yoon Suk Yeol for violating the election law, a ruling that, if finalized, would invalidate his 2022 presidential election and force his former ruling party to cough up nearly 40 billion won (US$29.8 million).
Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team made the request during a hearing at the appeals court, urging it to dismiss Yoon's appeal. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Oct. 27.
In late July, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to a 1 1/2-year prison term, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of making false statements as the People Power Party (PPP)'s presidential candidate ahead of the election in March 2022.
Yoon was indicted for falsely claiming during a 2021 press event that he had never introduced a lawyer to a former tax official.
Yoon was also accused of lying in an interview in January 2022, claiming that a party official had introduced him to shaman Jeon Seong-bae and denying that he had met Jeon together with his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
The court found Yoon guilty on both charges, accepting the special counsel's argument that Yoon had in fact introduced the lawyer to the former tax official and had met Jeon through his wife's introduction.
If the verdict is finalized through appeals, Yoon's election as president will be invalidated and the PPP will be forced to return 39.7 billion won it was reimbursed in campaign expenses by the election watchdog after Yoon's victory in the 2022 election.
Under the election law, political parties are reimbursed for campaign expenses if their presidential candidate receives at least 15 percent of the vote. They must, however, return the funds if their candidates receive a finalized sentence of a fine of 1 million won or greater for election law violations.
Yoon maintained his innocence in his closing statement, arguing that his past remarks cited by the special counsel's team were not false.
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol (Yonhap)
ycm@yna.co.kr
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