S.Korean Opposition Lawmaker Sentenced to 2 Years for Illegal Political Funds from Unification Church

SEOUL, April 28 (Yonhap) -- An appeals court on Tuesday sentenced Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to a two-year prison term on charges of accepting illegal political funds from the Unification Church. The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence after finding him guilty of accepting 100 million won (US$68,000) in January 2022 from a church official seeking favors from the former administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The sentence matched the ruling of a lower court in January. "This case is far more serious than typical violations of the Political Funds Act, making severe punishment inevitable," a judge at the sentencing hearing said. "Even though the charges were corroborated by various evidence, he denied the crime from the investigation stage." The court also ordered Kweon to forfeit 100 million won, in line with the lower court ruling. Kweon, a five-term lawmaker once known as one of Yoon's close confidants, had argued he met the church official for a meal but did not receive money. His lawyers had also claimed the case did not fall under the mandate of special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, which indicted him while investigating various corruption allegations against former first lady Kim Keon Hee. The court dismissed the claims. Kweon served as the PPP's floor leader until June 2025. He was placed under arrest in September and indicted the following month. Min's team had requested a four-year prison term and a forfeit of 100 million won for Kweon. Lawmakers are stripped of their parliamentary seats if they are sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or heavy punishment for violating the Political Funds Act. Should the Supreme Court uphold his sentence following a widely anticipated appeal from Kweon, the lawmaker would lose his seat in the National Assembly.