Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court after receiving a two-year prison sentence in his second trial for allegedly accepting 100 million won ($70,000) in illegal political funds from the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, commonly known as the Unification Church.
Kweon's defense counsel filed the appeal Tuesday with the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 2-1, presided over by judges Baek Seung-yeop, Hwang Seung-tae, and Kim Young-hyun.
Kweon was arrested and indicted in October last year by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team on charges of receiving 100 million won from Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church's world headquarters, on January 5, 2022. The payment was allegedly made along with requests for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's support for the religious organization.
Kweon has maintained that he did not receive money from the former headquarters chief. However, on the 28th of last month, the appeals court, like the first trial court, found him guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison with an additional forfeiture of 100 million won. Kweon's side acknowledged meeting Yoon for a meal that day but denied receiving money. The court ruled that the charges were substantiated based on evidence submitted by the special prosecutor's team.
"As a five-term lawmaker and a leading political figure of his party, the defendant was obligated to prioritize national interests in accordance with his conscience, based on the duty of integrity prescribed by the Constitution," the court said. "Nevertheless, he betrayed the public's expectations and his duty as a lawmaker by accepting 100 million won from the Unification Church."
Kweon's side argued that the case was not within the scope of investigation under the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act and that key evidence had been illegally collected and used. These arguments were rejected, as they had been in the first trial. The claim that former headquarters chief Yoon had framed Kweon to escape his own embezzlement charges was also dismissed.
After the second trial verdict, the defense team issued a statement criticizing the proceedings. "This trial was nothing more than a formal procedure conducted toward a predetermined conclusion without even basic fact-checking," the statement said. "Despite the investigative agency's improper methods being exposed, the court turned a blind eye."
If the Supreme Court upholds the two-year prison sentence, Kweon will lose his parliamentary seat under the National Assembly Act and the Public Official Election Act.
