Yoon Suk-yeol Acquitted on Appeal, Ruling Could Also Shake Oh Se-hoon's Case
Former President Yoon Suk-yeol has been acquitted on appeal in his trial on charges of receiving free opinion polling (surveys measuring which parties or candidates the public supports) from political broker Myung Tae-kyun. Unlike the first trial, which sentenced him to two years in prison and a fine of 13.96 million won in disgorgement, the appellate court found both Yoon and Myung not guilty. The ruling is drawing attention as it could influence verdicts in the trials of others facing the same charges.
The point where the first and second trials diverged was whether the free polling could be considered a donation prohibited under the Political Funds Act. The first trial ruled that polling costs not borne by Yoon and his wife constituted a donation. The appellate court, however, found that while free polling may confer a political benefit, it does not amount to a property interest. The court noted in particular that what Myung provided to the Yoons was merely political advice such as polling trends and introductions to influential politicians, driven by his personal desire to have his own value recognized.
The two courts also differed on whether Yoon had given tacit approval to the polling. The first trial found that Yoon had implicitly consented after receiving an account of the agreement from his wife, Kim Keon-hee. The appellate court, by contrast, found no evidence of a meeting of the minds between the Yoons and Myung on the free provision of polling. It concluded that while Yoon and Kim's relationship may be recognized as a political community, it is difficult to view it as a conspiracy. The court also said it was hard to establish the defendants' intent to make a political funds donation.
Kim Keon-hee, indicted on the same suspicions, was acquitted in both the first and second trials, and her case is pending before the Supreme Court's full bench. The special counsel team investigating Kim said it plans to appeal Yoon's case to the Supreme Court. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was fined in the first trial on similar charges, is having his appeal heard by the same Seoul High Court panel—Criminal Division 7—that handled Yoon's case.
