South Korean Court sentences former President Yoon Suk Yeol to a suspended prison term for Election Law violation

Jul 27, 2026

The Seoul Central District Court has sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the Public Official Election Act by making false statements during his 2022 campaign. Yoon plans to appeal the ruling. If the conviction is finalized, the ruling People's Power Party must return 39.7 billion won in reimbursed election expenses, threatening to financially cripple the party.

Yoon Suk Yeol conviction

▪Special counsel Min Joong-ki had requested a two-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
▪Former President Yoon Suk Yeol denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the suspended prison sentence.
▪The Seoul Central District Court sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the Public Official Election Act.

People's Power Party response

▪The People's Power Party urged that the trial of Democratic Party of Korea President Lee Jae-myung be resumed and concluded quickly.
▪Park Sung-hoon, a spokesperson for the People's Power Party, stated that the party will watch the results as the Supreme Court's final judgment still remains.

Lee Jae-myung case comparison

▪Park Sung-hoon stated that the Supreme Court has already judged Democratic Party of Korea President Lee Jae-myung guilty of violating the Public Official Election Act.
▪Park Sung-hoon asserted that if Lee Jae-myung's sentence is confirmed, the Democratic Party of Korea must return 43.4 billion won in presidential election preservation funds.

Campaign fund reimbursement

▪If former President Yoon Suk Yeol's sentence of a fine of more than 1 million won or imprisonment is finalized, the People's Power Party must return 39.7 billion won in election expenses.
▪Under South Korean law, the government reimburses campaign expenses if a presidential candidate wins or secures at least 15 percent of the vote.

Election law false information

▪Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was convicted of falsely claiming in December 2021 that he had never introduced a defense lawyer to former tax official Yoon Woo-jin.
▪Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was convicted of falsely claiming in January 2022 that he was introduced to shaman Jeon Seong-bae by a party official and had not met him with Kim Keon Hee.