Yoon Suk Yeol gets suspended sentence for 2022 election disinformation

A South Korean court has given jailed former president Yoon Suk Yeol an 18-month sentence, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of spreading false information during his 2022 presidential campaign.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Yoon violated polling laws by making false statements on the campaign trail. Judges found that he had been dishonest about his ties to a shaman and had lied in an interview at a Buddhist conference to cover up a 2019 meeting with the mystic. They also ruled that he had lied about introducing a lawyer to a tax official who was investigated over alleged bribery.

If upheld on appeal, the ruling could force Yoon's People Power Party to repay 39.7 billion won, about $29 million, to the National Election Commission. A party spokeswoman told AFP the sum was roughly what the party spent on the 2022 presidential election.

Yoon's legal team told AFP there were “significant errors” in the judgment and said it would appeal. Yoon won the 2022 vote by 0.7 percentage points. He is already serving a life sentence for insurrection after declaring martial law in December 2024, a move that lawmakers voted down after six hours before removing him from office.