Ousted South Korean President Yoon Gets Suspended Sentence for Lying During 2022 Campaign

A South Korean court handed former President Yoon Suk Yeol another conviction Monday. This one wasn't for the martial law disaster that ended his presidency. It was for lying to voters back in 2022.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, according to the Associated Press and Reuters. He won't serve time on this charge unless he violates the terms of the suspension. But the ruling carries weight.

What He Lied About

The court found Yoon made two false statements during his campaign that qualify as election law violations.

First, at a December 2021 press conference, Yoon denied that as a state prosecutor in 2012 he'd introduced a defense attorney to a former Seoul tax official who was under bribery investigation. The court didn't buy the denial. Prosecutors argued he made the introduction, according to Reuters.

Second, in a January 2022 interview, Yoon downplayed his connection to a fortune teller named Jeon Seong-bae. That's not a random detail. Jeon was later convicted of acting as a go-between linking Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, to the Unification Church, which allegedly bribed her for political favors, according to Newsday. The court ruled Yoon actually had a long-standing relationship with Jeon, first introduced through his wife.

The court didn't mince words about why this matters. "When a candidate personally announces false information at public events with a large impact, such as debates and interviews, the effect on voters' decision making is very significant," the court said, according to Reuters and the Times of India.

Prosecutors wanted two years. They got 18 months, suspended.

Why the Party Should Be Sweating

The People Power Party faces another legal risk from this conviction.

Under South Korean law, the government reimburses candidates for campaign expenses if they clear 15% of the vote. Yoon won in 2022 by a margin of just 0.7 percentage points, the closest presidential race in the country's history, according to the Times of India. His party got roughly 39.7 billion won, about $27.1 million, reimbursed by the National Election Commission.

But there's a catch. If a candidate is later convicted of an election law violation carrying a fine of 1 million won (about $680) or worse, the party has to give that money back. Yoon's suspended prison sentence clears that bar easily.

That means if this conviction survives appeal, the People Power Party could be on the hook to return $27 million in taxpayer funds it already spent. That's a significant financial hit to a party still trying to rebuild after Yoon's martial law fiasco.

Park Sung-hoon, the party's spokesperson, was careful to note the case isn't final until the Supreme Court rules, according to Newsday. Yoon's legal team says the verdict misreads the facts and the law, and confirmed he'll appeal, according to the Times of India and Reuters.

The defense's position is clear: Yoon denies lying, denies wrongdoing, and his lawyers argue the court misapplied election law standards to statements made in the heat of a campaign. That's a legal argument worth taking seriously, and it will get tested at the appellate level and potentially the Supreme Court.

One Conviction Among Several

This is one of seven ongoing criminal cases against Yoon, according to Newsday, and it is far from his most serious legal problem. He was sentenced to life in prison in February on rebellion charges tied to his December 2024 martial law decree. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court upheld a separate seven-year sentence against him for bypassing legitimate Cabinet deliberation before declaring martial law and resisting arrest attempts. That was the first of his cases to be finalized by South Korea's highest court.

Yoon was removed from office in April 2025, months after his martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024, collapsed within hours when lawmakers broke through a military and police blockade to vote it down, triggering what AP called the country's biggest political crisis in decades.

Yoon remains in custody. He listened to Monday's verdict without comment, according to Newsday. His appeal on the campaign-lies conviction now heads up the chain. The $27 million question of whether the People Power Party must return reimbursed funds won't be resolved until South Korea's Supreme Court has the final word.