Rep. Kwon Seong-dong’s 2-year prison sentence upheld... Loses his seat in the National Assembly

[26.07.16] Supreme Court Confirms 2-Year Prison Sentence for People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong... Loss of Parliamentary Seat

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, who was indicted on charges of receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from the Unification Church, has had his 2-year prison sentence and a forfeiture of 100 million won finalized by the Supreme Court, resulting in the loss of his parliamentary seat.

1. Key Aspects of the Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Um Sang-pil) dismissed the appeal filed by Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, who was charged with violating the Political Funds Act, and confirmed the lower court's sentence of 2 years in prison and a forfeiture of 100 million won on the 16th. According to the Public Official Election Act and the National Assembly Act, any sentence of a fine of 1 million won or more leads to the loss of a parliamentary seat. Rep. Kweon was indicted for receiving 100 million won in cash on January 5, 2022, at a restaurant in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, from Yoon Young-ho, the former global headquarters chief of the Unification Church, in exchange for soliciting government support for the church under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

This Supreme Court ruling serves as a significant case in which the South Korean judicial system applied strict standards to the illegal activities of high-ranking public officials. Despite the repeated arguments from the defendant's side, the court made it clear that there was no wavering in its legal judgment. This symbolically demonstrates that the moral standards and legal responsibilities demanded by the public from a National Assembly member are by no means light. With this ruling, Rep. Kweon has no further legal recourse and will immediately enter the execution of the sentence, effectively ending his political career. The judiciary's consistent stance will serve as a powerful precedent for similar political corruption cases in the future.

Pursuant to Article 19 of the Public Official Election Act and Article 136 of the National Assembly Act, a National Assembly member who has been confirmed for a prison sentence or higher is disqualified and automatically discharged from their position. Accordingly, the relevant Election Commission will officially notify the loss of the parliamentary seat, and the electoral district will be rendered vacant, triggering the necessity for a by-election in accordance with the regulations of the Public Official Election Act.

The Supreme Court dismissed Rep. Kweon's appeal, confirming the 2-year prison sentence and the loss of his parliamentary seat, thereby upholding judicial justice.

2. Key Evidence for Conviction

The court rejected the arguments made by Rep. Kweon’s side and found the evidence submitted by the Special Counsel team to be clear. The core grounds for proving the charges are as follows:

• Yoon Young-ho's Diary: A note reading 'Kweon Seong-dong lunch - "a large one" support'.
• KakaoTalk Message: "What I gave you today is small, but I hope you use it effectively for Candidate Yoon."
• Unification Church Internal Messages: Mr. Yoon mentioned the delivery of the funds to other affiliates.

The court did not rely solely on the written note, but judged that the circumstances before and after, along with the messages, provided mutually reinforcing credibility. The defendant's side strongly argued that the evidence was collected illegally, but the court reaffirmed that the data was obtained through legal search and seizure procedures. It reached the conclusion that the slang "a large one" written in the diary rationally refers to a large sum of 100 million won. Advancements in digital forensic technology also made a decisive contribution to proving covert crimes. By meticulously checking the continuity of evidence, the court clarified facts contrary to the defendant's claims, contributing significantly to forming the judiciary's firm conviction of guilt.

The Supreme Court acts as a court of law that reviews for errors in fact-finding or legal misapplication; this ruling ultimately confirms that there were no violations of the rules of evidence or legal errors in the original judgment. This concludes the trial of Rep. Kweon's Political Funds Act violation case, which had been ongoing for approximately four years since his indictment in 2022.

Concrete evidence, including the legally secured diary note and KakaoTalk conversations, proved the defendant's guilt.

3. Reactions from Political Circles and Civic Groups

Immediately after the ruling, calls for an apology from former Rep. Kweon continued from various quarters. The Democratic Party Provincial Committee commented that it was a "righteous verdict" (sa-pil-gwi-jeong) and "a stern judgment by the judiciary confirming the principle of the rule of law once again." The Justice Party Gangwon Provincial Committee criticized it as "the shameful true face of conservative politics in Gangwon," while the Gangneung Citizens' Action denounced him as "a shameless criminal who trampled on the constitution and betrayed public trust." Former Rep. Kweon stated on Facebook, "I will humbly accept the judiciary's final judgment," while also adding, "I hope political retaliation ends with me."

Various political circles and civic groups are accepting this ruling as more than just news, strongly emphasizing the need for political reform in South Korea. Political forces, including the Democratic Party Provincial Committee, pointed out that the disappointment felt by the Gangneung local community is significant, suggesting that political politicization is inevitable. Civic groups raised voices demanding fundamental institutional improvements regarding why such illegal activities are repeated in politics, rather than just stopping at the loss of the parliamentary seat. Within the local community, the prevailing opinion is that one should respect the court's decision rather than sympathize. Such critical public opinion is expected to spread beyond individual disgrace to responsibility for the People Power Party, causing considerable repercussions in the political landscape.

Following the ruling, an official from the People Power Party expressed their position that they respect the Supreme Court's verdict and announced plans to begin the process of selecting a party council chairman for the district and preparing for the upcoming by-election according to party regulations. Additionally, the National Election Commission will proceed with the notification of the vacancy and follow-up administrative procedures in accordance with the Public Official Election Act.

All sectors evaluate this ruling as righteous and are strongly urging political reform and responsible apologies.

4. Related Cases and Future Repercussions

Meanwhile, Yoon Young-ho had already been convicted on the 9th for the charges of delivering 100 million won to Rep. Kweon and delivering money and valuables to First Lady Kim Keon-hee through Geonjin Beopsa. The sentencing of First Lady Kim Keon-hee's Deutsch Motors stock manipulation, Unification Church bribery, and Myung Tae-kyun public opinion survey free receipt allegations case, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed to the 24th. This is because the court accepted the Special Counsel team's request to review the 1st trial verdict of former President Yoon Suk-yeol together.

The connection between this case and the case related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee is analyzed to be a very important variable in future trial proceedings. In particular, the Special Counsel team's request to review former President Yoon Suk-yeol's 1st trial judgment together suggests the possibility that each case is not an individual crime but a structural collusion. The postponement of the sentencing date to the 24th proves how cautiously and comprehensively the judiciary is examining these complex allegations. The Special Counsel team is tightly weaving sequential criminal charges through data secured during this investigation. The materials secured in this process are expected to be used as important evidence in the trials of other cases, and it is a time when the preparation of institutional devices to increase the transparency of state affairs is more urgent than ever.

The postponement of the appellate sentencing is within the court's discretion under Article 277 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and is the result of comprehensively considering the prosecution's request for consolidated proceedings and the defendant's request to resume arguments. The trial scheduled for the 24th will feature a consolidated sentencing of each case, including charges related to Deutsch Motors, which will be an important process to confirm the continuity of the criminal facts with this case.

The postponement of the sentencing in the First Lady Kim Keon-hee case and the review of the former President Yoon verdict are forecasting major repercussions across the political landscape.

5. Political Tasks and Institutional Improvement

The political circle should take this incident as a cautionary tale and embark on fundamental constitutional improvement to eradicate illegal political funds. It is urgent to strengthen the ethics review function of the National Assembly and introduce a system that can monitor the transparency of political funds in real time. Politics that have lost public trust must realize that they have lost the basis of their existence. True political reform must begin with the moral decisions of high-ranking officials. Many citizens hope that this ruling will be an opportunity for South Korean political culture to take a step forward.

In the wake of this situation, voices are growing that strict guidelines on the method of receiving political funds should be legislated. To ensure transparent cash flow, the existing donation system should be completely re-examined, and plans to introduce a digital-based tracking system should be considered. Only by practicing equality before the law can politicians restore the values of democracy that have been damaged. Civic society will continue to monitor the legislative activities of National Assembly members and will not let go of the reins of continuous checks and monitoring to ensure that such illegal cases do not recur.

Article 45 of the Political Funds Act and related enforcement decrees stipulate that income and expenditure details of political funds must be transparently disclosed annually and that a standing monitoring system of the National Election Commission must be operated. With this ruling, the introduction of a digital accounting system that tracks the flow of political funds in real time and plans to strengthen supervision over compliance with high-ranking public official ethics codes are expected to be discussed as major agenda items of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform.

Building a transparent political fund system and institutional reform are essential tasks to restore political trust.

Category	Key Details
Subject	Rep. Kweon Seong-dong
Final Sentence	2 years in prison, 100 million won forfeiture
Legal Outcome	Loss of National Assembly seat
Key Issue	Violation of Political Funds Act (Receipt of 100 million won)
Next Case	Kim Keon-hee appellate sentencing (July 24)

[Supreme Court Ruling] Rep. Kweon Seong-dong 2-Year Sentence and Loss of Seat Confirmed

The Supreme Court sentencing results regarding Rep. Kweon Seong-dong's violation of the Political Funds Act and local community reactions are as follows:

• Final Ruling: 2-year prison sentence and 100 million won forfeiture confirmed.
• Legal Outcome: Rep. Kweon Seong-dong's loss of seat confirmed per Public Official Election Act and National Assembly Act.
• Local Opinion: Local civic groups including Gangneung Citizens' Action issued critical statements urging responsible action.
• Upcoming Schedule: Appellate sentencing for First Lady Kim Keon-hee's related case is scheduled for July 24.

Related Tags: Kweon Seong-dong, Loss of Seat, Violation of Political Funds Act, Supreme Court Ruling, Gangneung, Political Reform, Judicial Justice, People Power Party, July_16_2026