Former South Korean President Yoon Found Guilty, Jailed Over Illegal Polling Scheme

July 13, () — Former South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol, has been sentenced to two years in prison after a Seoul court found him guilty of illegally receiving free opinion polling services worth 270 million won (about $180,000) from a political broker.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Monday that Yoon violated South Korea’s political funding laws by accepting 14 rounds of opinion polling free of charge between April 2021 and March 2022 from self-described political power broker Myung Tae-kyun.

According to the court, the free polling services were not merely political support but an unlawful donation. Judges held that Yoon later repaid the favour by using his political influence to facilitate the nomination of a former lawmaker, constituting an illegal exchange of political benefits under the country’s Political Funds Act.

The ruling rejected Yoon’s defence that he neither requested the opinion polls nor promised any political favour in return. His legal team had argued that prosecutors failed to prove the existence of any agreement linking the polling services to political appointments.

The verdict also marks a departure from earlier court rulings involving former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, in which judges found insufficient evidence of a quid pro quo regarding the same polling services.

Monday’s judgement is, however, not final, as Yoon retains the right to appeal the conviction.

The latest sentence further deepens the legal crisis facing the 65-year-old former president, who is currently embroiled in at least eight criminal cases stemming largely from the collapse of his administration.

Yoon, elected on the platform of the conservative People Power Party, was removed from office following his controversial declaration of martial law in December 2024, a move that triggered one of South Korea’s worst constitutional crises in recent history.

He is already appealing a life prison sentence imposed in February after another court found him guilty of masterminding an insurrection linked to the failed martial law declaration.

Last week, South Korea’s Supreme Court also upheld a separate seven-year prison sentence after finding him guilty of obstructing authorities attempting to execute an arrest warrant.

In another high-profile case, the Seoul Central District Court had earlier sentenced Yoon to 30 years’ imprisonment after convicting him of abuse of power and aiding the enemy over allegations that drones were sent over the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, in 2024.

With multiple convictions, appeals and criminal proceedings still pending, Yoon remains in custody as South Korea continues to grapple with the political and legal fallout from one of the most turbulent presidencies in the country’s democratic history.