The Kim Keon-hee special counsel team, led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, has sought a four-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who stands trial on charges of receiving free opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun.
At the final hearing on charges of violating the Political Funds Act held Wednesday by the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Jin-kwan, the special counsel asked the court to sentence Yoon to four years in prison and to order the forfeiture of 137.2 million won. The prosecution sought a three-year prison term for Myung.
The special counsel characterized the actions of Yoon and Myung as a serious crime in which political power colluded with money, undermining elections and party democracy. "The defendant Yoon Suk-yeol received free opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun and, in return, intervened in the People Power Party's nomination process, impairing the fairness and transparency of the party's candidate recommendation procedures," the special counsel said. "While holding the position of president — the head of state under the Constitution — responsible for the fair management of elections, he instead used his influence to undermine constitutional values."
The prosecution added, "He served for 27 years as a prosecutor, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief, and Prosecutor General, upholding the rule of law, and even when declaring his presidential candidacy, he emphasized fairness and the rule of law as essential core values." It explained the rationale for the sentence, stating, "Through this crime, the public has come to hold strong distrust toward constitutional institutions as a whole, including the president, National Assembly members, and political parties."
Yoon was indicted on charges of conspiring with his wife Kim Keon-hee to receive a total of 58 free opinion polls worth approximately 270 million won from Myung between April 2021 and March 2022. The special counsel believes that, in return for receiving the free polls, Yoon and his wife exercised influence to secure a nomination for former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun, an acquaintance of Myung, in the 2022 National Assembly by-election.
