Daejinyeon Members Fined in First Trial for 'Oh Sehoon Defeat Campaign' During 21st General Election

Members of the Seoul National University Progressive Student Union (Daejinyeon), who staged a picket protest at a campaign event for Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, then a candidate for the Gwangjin-eul district in Seoul during the 21st National Assembly election, have been sentenced to fines in the first trial.

Yonhap News Agency

On October 27, the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Presiding Judge Kang Minho) sentenced 18 individuals, including a 42-year-old surnamed Yoo, to fines ranging from 1 million to 6 million won for violating the Public Official Election Act. Of these, five people who received a 1 million won fine were also given a one-year suspended sentence.

The court stated, "Considering the means, methods, and content of the banners, the defendants' main purpose was to call for the defeat of candidate Oh, and they conducted election campaigning in ways other than those prescribed by the Public Official Election Act. The court took into account each defendant's prior criminal record, status, role, and the number of offenses. For some defendants, the court found them not guilty of violating the Public Official Election Act on specific dates."

They were indicted on charges of staging a picket protest at Mayor Oh's campaign events, including at Konkuk University Station in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, in March 2020, raising allegations that Mayor Oh had provided money or valuables to apartment security guards and cleaners during the holidays.

Previously, the trial of Daejinyeon members accused of violating Article 90 of the Public Official Election Act (prohibiting the installation of facilities, etc.) was temporarily suspended after the Constitutional Court ruled the provision unconstitutional in July 2022. Subsequently, in April this year, prosecutors amended the indictment to apply the provision prohibiting preliminary election campaigning (Article 254, Paragraph 1), and the trial resumed.

The sentencing hearing for Koo, who was absent on this day, will be held on November 3.