Governor Kim Kyung-soo sentenced to 2 years in prison in second trial
Jin Joong-kwon "Supreme Court ruling likely not to differ significantly"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon predicted on the 6th that the Supreme Court's ruling would not be significantly different regarding Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, who was sentenced to two years in prison in the appellate court for allegations including manipulation of portal site comments.
On the same day, Jin posted on his Facebook, "I understand that the Supreme Court mainly reviews whether the law was properly applied. They will reconsider whether it was appropriate not to apply the 'violation of election law.' However, since it has been confirmed that he watched the demonstration, it will be hard to get away with it," he said.
He added, "People on that side all say Kim Kyung-soo is a 'good person.' I don't understand why such a person did something unnecessary. At that time, the trend was already in favor of Moon Jae-in, so there was no need to push too hard. Perhaps he wanted to contribute to Moon Jae-in's victory himself. It was an accident caused by trying to get a share," he mocked.
He continued, "While a just cause should be pursued by just means, members of the Democratic Party believe that if the purpose is just, the means do not matter. In fact, there is an atmosphere that rather values the 'merit' of contributing to victory by immoral or illegal methods. This is probably an accident born from such an atmosphere," he pointed out.
Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam, who was indicted on charges of manipulating public opinion through comments, is responding to reporters' questions as he leaves the building after the appellate court sentencing hearing held on the afternoon of the 6th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
He also said, "There are two people who greatly contributed to him receiving the sentence," adding, "One is Kim Eo-jun, who even used broadcasting to raise the problematic suspicions. Sometimes his conspiratorial imaginations turn out to be reality. The problem is that the revealed reality was the opposite of his imagination."
Then Jin said, "The other person is Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae. At that time, (Minister Choo) was the leader of the Democratic Party. If she had lightly laughed off Kim Eo-jun's conspiratorial imaginations, this would not have happened. She is also someone who usually trusts conspiracy theories a lot. So she believed Kim Eo-jun and requested an investigation, which led to this mess," he said.
Finally, he concluded, "The presidents of this country are Yoo Si-min and Kim Eo-jun. Democratic Party lawmakers often base their inquiries on Kim Eo-jun's broadcasts. Not only do they play on the frames he sets, but they often even follow his wording. It's pathetic," he concluded.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judges Ham Sang-hoon, Kim Min-ki, Ha Tae-han) sentenced Governor Kim to two years in prison for the charge of comment manipulation (obstruction of business by computer, etc.), the same as the first trial. However, the charge of violating the Public Official Election Act, for which he was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial, was acquitted in the appellate court.
Right after the verdict was announced, Governor Kim met with reporters and said, "I respect the court's judgment," but added, "It is a ruling that I absolutely cannot accept." He continued, "Only half of the truth has been revealed. The other half will be definitely revealed at the Supreme Court through an immediate appeal."
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