Former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Choi Kang-wook, who was prosecuted for publicly spreading false information related to the issuance of a false internship certificate for the son of Cho Kuk, leader of the Jo Kuk Innovation Party, during the 21st general election candidacy, was sentenced to a fine again in the appellate court.
On the 19th, the Criminal Division 6-3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Lee Ye-seul) dismissed both the appeals of former lawmaker Choi and the prosecution in the appeal trial for violation of the Public Official Election Act, upholding the original sentence of an 800,000 KRW fine.
At the previous sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested, "Please sentence as per the original prosecution's recommendation." In the first trial in 2021, the prosecution had sought a fine of 3 million KRW against former lawmaker Choi.
At that time, in his final statement, former lawmaker Choi said, "To ensure my defeat, the prosecution orchestrated a plot to instigate a complaint, resulting in the same complaint being filed by the opposing party, followed by various media plays and court deception that misled the public and the court, which led to the original verdict." He argued that since the investigation and prosecution were conducted based on the so-called 'complaint instigation,' the prosecution's abuse of prosecutorial authority should be recognized.
Regarding this, the court stated on the day, "It cannot be concluded that the manner in which the complaint that triggered the investigation was delivered constitutes an abuse of prosecutorial authority."
It added, "Considering the series of procedures including the indictment, the process was lawful, and there is no objective evidence to suggest improper intervention by Son Jun-sung (former Policy Officer for Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office). Therefore, the claim of abuse of prosecutorial authority is rejected," the court ruled.
Immediately after the sentencing, former lawmaker Choi told reporters, "I cannot understand what the court is thinking at all," and stated, "This must be corrected by the Supreme Court."
Former lawmaker Choi was prosecuted and sentenced to a fine of 800,000 KRW in the first trial for publicly spreading false information by stating on an internet podcast during the 2020 general election period that Cho's son had actually participated in the internship, related to the suspicion of false issuance of an internship activity certificate.
Meanwhile, former lawmaker Choi lost his parliamentary seat after the Supreme Court confirmed in September last year an 8-month prison sentence with a 2-year probation for issuing a false internship certificate to Cho's son.
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