'Threatening Assemblyman Yoon Young-chan' 40s Man Sentenced to 10 Months in First Trial

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] A man in his 40s who sent a threatening email to Rep. Yoon Young-chan, a close aide of former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

Han Kyung-hwan, Chief Judge of Criminal Division 2 at the Seoul Western District Court, sentenced Park to 10 months in prison on the 2nd for charges of intimidation.

The court stated, "The defendant shows no remorse for his actions and has made no efforts to compensate the victim. Given his prior record of similar crimes, a prison sentence is unavoidable," adding, "Considering that the defendant has no prior record exceeding fines and suffers from bipolar disorder, the sentence was determined accordingly." The prosecution had sought a sentence of 2 years and 6 months.

Park was brought to trial on charges of sending an email on August 5 this year to Rep. Yoon, demanding that he step down from Lee Nak-yeon's campaign, containing threatening expressions toward Yoon's family and female staff members at his office. At the time, Rep. Yoon was serving as the political affairs chief of Lee's campaign.

The email, sent under the name "Gwangju Iridul for Governor Lee Jae-myung's Election," included threats to kidnap and sexually assault not only Yoon's family but also female staff members at his office, claiming to have tracked their homes and movements. It also contained threatening content stating, "We have identified the homes of female reporters who wrote negative articles about Governor Lee and will take them out for fun."

Park's side argued in court that "there is no reason to send such an email to an unknown member of the National Assembly and that it was sent by a previous owner," but the court dismissed Park's claim as an "unconvincing excuse."