[Edaily Reporter Kim Han-young ] The appellate court panel has been appointed to hear the case of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was sentenced in the first trial to have his election invalidated on charges of disseminating false information while campaigning as the People Power Party’s presidential candidate in the 20th presidential election. As this case will determine not only former President Yoon’s guilt or innocence but also whether the People Power Party must reimburse election expenses, the court panel is drawing intense attention from both within and outside the legal community.

According to legal circles on the 7th, the Seoul High Court has assigned the appeal in former President Yoon’s case involving violations of the Public Official Election Act to Criminal Division 2-1 (Judges Baek Seung-yeop, Hwang Seung-tae, and Kim Young-hyun). The date for the first hearing has not yet been set.

Criminal Division 2-1 of the Seoul High Court is a specialized panel handling election-related cases, including violations of the Public Official Election Act. Last April, in the appeal trial of former People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong—who was indicted on charges of accepting 100 million won in illegal political funds from the Unification Church—the division sentenced him to two years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 100 million won.

Previously, on the 27th of last month, Criminal Division 21 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Sun-pyo) sentenced former President Yoon to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

The court ruled, “In the process of electing the highest public official—the President of the Republic of Korea—the defendant, as a leading candidate, publicly disseminated false information to his own advantage,” adding, “It is sufficient to conclude that the proper decision-making of voters—the legal interest that the crime of disseminating false information seeks to protect—was infringed upon by the offense in this case.”

If this ruling becomes final, the People Power Party will be required to return the 39.7 billion won in election subsidy funds it received during the 20th presidential election. The Public Official Election Act stipulates that if an elected official receives a final conviction for an election-related crime resulting in a fine of 1 million won or more—which invalidates the election—the party must return the deposit and election subsidy funds received after the election. This is because the political party to which the elected official belongs is responsible for the repayment.

The People Power Party has stated that “preparations at the party level are complete” regarding this matter. Chief Spokesperson Park Seong-hoon met with reporters immediately after the ruling and said, “We respect the court’s decision, but the appeals and supreme court proceedings remain.” Regarding the repayment of the election expense subsidies, he added, “Preparations at the party level are in place. However, we are not considering the sale of the party headquarters.”

A final judgment is expected around January of next year. Whether the People Power Party will have to return the election expenses will be determined along with the final judgment.