Seoul: An appellate court on Thursday acquitted a current and two former ruling Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers charged with involvement in a cash-for-votes scandal surrounding the party's 2021 leadership election. The Seoul High Court overturned guilty verdicts for Rep. Heo Jong-sik and former Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lim Jong-seong, who were accused of exchanging cash envelopes to support former DP leader Song Young-gil in the run-up to the party's national convention in May 2021.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Youn was accused of handing cash envelopes, each worth 3 million won (US$2,034), to Heo and Lim in April 2021 during a gathering of lawmakers who supported then-candidate Song, who ultimately won the election. A lower court had earlier handed out suspended prison terms against the three politicians.

The appellate court overturned the ruling after determining that the recordings of phone calls submitted by a former DP official, which had served as essential evidence for the case, were illegally collected.