Supreme Court Ruling on Cheonan Mayor Park Sangdon's Election Law Violation Scheduled for 24th

Supreme Court Third Division Sets Sentencing Date

On January 17, Park Sangdon, mayor of Cheonan, was leaving the courtroom after the retrial verdict.

The Supreme Court has scheduled the sentencing date for Park Sangdon, the mayor of Cheonan, who is undergoing a final appeal on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, for the 24th of this month.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Supreme Court's Third Division set Mayor Park's sentencing for 11:15 a.m. on the 24th.

The presiding judge and the panel were assigned the case on the 19th of last month, but the review of the appeal grounds and legal principles has not proceeded separately.

Requests for a constitutional review of the law, filed with the Supreme Court on the 10th and 19th of last month, have also not been processed.

The request was made on the grounds that there are unconstitutional elements in the Public Official Election Act. If the court accepts it, the trial may be suspended until the Constitutional Court reaches a conclusion.

Regarding this, Mayor Park explained, "During the appeal, my lawyer believed there was a need to make such a request, so it is in progress," and added, "As far as I know, it concerns the fact that some provisions of the Public Official Election Act are applied differently to members of the National Assembly and heads of local governments, even though both are elected positions."

Previously, Mayor Park was brought to trial on charges of using his official position to campaign during the 8th nationwide local elections in 2022, and for omitting the population standard when listing the city's unemployment and employment rates in campaign materials (alleged dissemination of false information).

The court of first instance acquitted Mayor Park, but the appellate court found that he had been grossly negligent in his duty to verify the facts and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years.

The Supreme Court overturned the appellate court's decision and remanded the case to the Daejeon High Court, considering that Mayor Park was not aware of the omission of the population standard, thereby partially recognizing his innocence.

The court handling the remanded case, taking into account the Supreme Court's judgment of innocence regarding the dissemination of false information, reduced the sentence to six months in prison, suspended for two years.

Meanwhile, if an elected official is sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for this charge, they will lose their position.