S. Korea's ex-president Yoon sentenced to 2 years in prison for political funds act violation

SEOUL - South Korea's former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday was sentenced to two years in prison for the political funds act violation linked to receiving illegal polling services, according to local media.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the prison sentence to Yoon, acknowledging that the former president received free opinion polls from self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun on 14 occasions.

The court confirmed that Yoon exerted influence over the general election nomination in return for Myung's support during the 2022 presidential election.

The team of Min Joong-ki, an independent counsel who led an investigation into corruption allegations involving Yoon and his wife Kim Keon-hee, demanded a four-year prison term for the ousted leader.

Myung was sentenced to one and a half years in jail, lighter than the three-year prison term sought by the special counsel.

Yoon was accused of conspiring with his wife to receive customized opinion polls free of charge from the political broker on 58 occasions from June 2021 to March 2022, ahead of the 2022 presidential election, in exchange for the illegal nomination of a former People Power Party lawmaker in a parliamentary by-election later that year.

The Supreme Court finalized a seven-year prison sentence for Yoon last week for abusing the presidential security service to hinder the anti-corruption agency from executing its arrest warrant in January 2025.

Yoon was sentenced to life in prison in February for the insurrection stemming from his martial law declaration and 30 years in prison in June for the general treason relevant to the infiltration of drones into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.

The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April 2025, officially removing him from office.

He was indicted under detention in January 2025 as a suspected ringleader of the insurrection, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested and indicted.