In brief
The Seoul High Court dismissed former President Yoon Suk‑yeol’s appeal and upheld a suspended sentence for violating election law, setting the stage for a potential invalidation of his 2022 election. The ruling obligates the People Power Party to refund 39.7 billion won in reimbursed campaign funds, while the final status of the election and refund remains uncertain. Yoon’s legal battles over prior convictions also loom over the case.
On Wednesday, the Seoul High Court affirmed a lower court’s decision that found former South Korean President Yoon Suk‑yeol guilty of violating election law after making false statements during his 2022 campaign. The appellate ruling upheld a 1½‑year prison sentence, suspended for three years, and rejected Yoon’s appeal.
Under South Korean law, a violation that results in a fine of more than 1 million won – about $750 – triggers automatic invalidation of an election’s result. Because Yoon is a former president, he does not lose any office, but the legal validity of his 2022 victory would be null and void retroactively. The High Court’s decision also means that the People Power Party, which received 39.7 billion won from the National Election Commission to reimburse campaign expenses, would have to return the amount.
Yoon’s conviction stemmed from claims he made during the campaign. In a January 2022 interview he asserted that he and his wife had never met a shamanist broker named Jeon Seong‑bae; in a December 2021 debate he said he had never introduced a lawyer to a former district tax chief under a bribery investigation. The court ruled those comments were false statements that violated the public official election law.
In addition to the election‑law case, Yoon had earlier been sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2026 for an insurrection linked to a martial‑law declaration, and to 30 years in June 2026 for treason involving drone infiltration of North Korea. The martial law was declared on the night of 3 December 2024 but was revoked hours later by the National Assembly, and Yoon became the first sitting president to be arrested and indicted.
The ruling also highlighted that the appellate court had taken into account evidence presented by independent counsel Min Joong‑ki, who had investigated allegations of corruption involving Yoon and his wife. The case therefore marks the culmination of several parallel legal proceedings against the former leader.
According to the court, the defamation and misinformation charges are the sole basis for the suspended sentence. However, the ruling did not determine whether Yoon’s election would ultimately be declared void in the courts’ final decision. It also left open whether the People Power Party will refund the reimbursed campaign cash, or whether further legal or administrative steps will be required.
Legal experts note that the High Court’s affirmation powers the previous court’s ruling into a final verdict only after the next legal stage, which could involve an appeal to a higher authority or a review by the Constitutional Court. The outcome will only be confirmed once the process reaches that stage.
Hamilton of the Seoul Board of Trustees explained that the refund is “doctored by statutory provisions that automatically require parties to return reimbursed funds if a candidate’s election is invalidated.” In the meantime, the People Power Party has not announced any immediate plans to repay the 39.7 billion won.
In short, while the High Court has kept Yoon’s suspended sentence and triggered the possibility of election invalidation, the final legal resolution on both the election and the refunds remains unresolved. The court’s decision will be the last step before any potential appeal or Constitutional Court review, leaving the ultimate fate of Yoon’s 2022 victory and the reimbursement of campaign funds uncertain. Follow-up will depend on whether the court’s ruling is upheld, challenged, or overturned as the case progresses through South Korea’s judiciary.”}
