A South Korean court has convicted former President Yoon Suk Yeol of making false statements during his presidential campaign, sentencing him to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years. The verdict from the Seoul Central District Court stated that Yoon's misrepresentations may have influenced voters' judgment.
Yoon, who was removed from office last year, denied the charges, and his legal team has stated plans to appeal, asserting that the ruling misinterprets facts and election law. If the conviction is upheld, Yoon's conservative People Power Party could be compelled to return approximately 40 billion won ($27 million) in election expenses that were reimbursed by the government following his narrow victory in 2022. Under South Korean law, candidates who receive more than 15% of the vote are eligible for reimbursement, but this funding must be repaid if the candidate is found guilty of an election law violation carrying a penalty of a 1 million won fine or more.
The court found that Yoon had made false statements in a January 2022 interview, during which he minimized his connection to a fortune teller. This individual was later convicted of acting as an intermediary between Yoon's wife and the Unification Church, which allegedly offered bribes for political advantages. Additionally, the court ruled that Yoon falsely denied at a December 2021 news conference having introduced a former Seoul tax official, who was under bribery investigation in 2012, to a defense attorney.
This conviction is one of several ongoing criminal cases against Yoon. He was removed from office in April 2025 after a brief martial law imposition in December 2024, an act that caused a significant political crisis. Yoon has appealed some of his convictions, including one for rebellion stemming from his attempt to impose martial law, for which he received a life sentence in February. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court upheld a seven-year prison sentence against him for bypassing a Cabinet deliberation before declaring martial law and resisting law enforcement.