Former Member of Parliament Kim Young-seon, acquitted of violating political funding laws, has filed an appeal claiming the verdict is unjust, while the prosecution contests the decision.
Kim Young-seon, a key figure in the controversy surrounding alleged election interference by President Yoon Seok-youl and first lady Kim Gun-hee, has appealed a recent court ruling that acquitted her of political fund law violations. Kim contends that the prosecution's case was based on fabricated charges that did not meet the legal criteria for a crime. She has requested the appellate court to acknowledge the case as one of lack of prosecutorial jurisdiction rather than a simple acquittal, emphasizing her appeal as an effort to curb prosecutorial abuse of power and ensure judicial reform and protection of citizen rights.
On the same day, the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office also filed an appeal against the acquittal of Kim Young-seon and others, asserting that the first trial had misinterpreted factual evidence and legal principles. The prosecutors claimed that they would contest five violations of the political fund law involving Kim Young-seon and others, and the length of the sentence given to one of the defendants regarding evidence concealment was deemed inappropriate.
The initial ruling saw Kim Young-seon and four other individuals acquitted of charges including accusations of misappropriating political funds during the 2022 local elections. The court found that certain funds identified for political support were either legitimate salaries or repayments of debts incurred during the election campaign, which ultimately led to the acquittals. However, one defendant received a suspended sentence for instructing the concealment of evidence, highlighting a partial criminal finding within the case as a whole.
