Unification Church official’s 18-month sentence finalized last week
South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a two-year prison sentence for Kweon Seong-dong, a lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party, on charges of accepting 100 million won ($66,300) in illegal political funds from a Unification Church official. The ruling immediately stripped Kweon of his seat in the National Assembly.
The Supreme Court’s Second Division, presided over by Justice Eom Sang-pil, upheld the lower court ruling that sentenced Kweon to two years in prison and ordered him to forfeit the 100 million won. The court said the lower court had not violated rules of logic and experience or exceeded the limits of judicial discretion in assessing the evidence.
Under South Korea’s Political Funds Act, a lawmaker automatically loses his parliamentary seat upon receiving a finalized fine of 1 million won or heavier punishment for illegally accepting political funds. The Supreme Court’s decision Thursday triggered that provision.
Kweon was indicted on charges of receiving the funds from Yoon Young-ho, a former director-general of the Unification Church’s international headquarters, in January 2022 ahead of South Korea’s presidential election. Prosecutors said the money was provided in exchange for political favors.
The Supreme Court also rejected Kweon’s arguments concerning the relevance of evidence obtained through search warrants, the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, his right to cross-examine witnesses, and the legal requirements for establishing a violation of the Political Funds Act.
The court last week finalized an 18-month prison sentence for Yoon Young-ho, who was convicted of providing the money to Kweon.