Changwon: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a suspended prison term for Changwon Mayor Hong Nam-pyo for violating the election law, resulting in his removal from office.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Hong was sentenced by an appellate court to six months in prison, suspended for one year. The sentence was given for offering a local politician a position as a public official in exchange for not entering the mayoral race ahead of the June 2022 local elections.

Hong filed an appeal against the ruling, but the top court dismissed the appeal, stating it found no fault in the lower court's decision. By law, the election of a public official is nullified if they are sentenced to a prison term or a fine of 1 million won (US$683) or more for violating the election law.