Seoul: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a two-year prison term for Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) for accepting illegal political funds from the Unification Church, consequently stripping him of his parliamentary seat. The court's decision confirmed an appellate court ruling, which found him guilty of violating the Political Funds Act for accepting 100 million won (US$67,300) in January 2022 from a church official seeking favors from the former administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the court stated that it did not find errors in the appellate ruling and also confirmed a forfeit of 100 million won for Kweon. Under the Political Funds Act, lawmakers are stripped of their seats in the National Assembly if they receive a finalized fine of 1 million won or a heavier punishment. In response to the ruling, Kweon expressed his acceptance but called for an end to what he termed as "political retaliation."

The verdict came on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision last week to finalize a guilty verdict for Yun Young-ho, the church official charged with giving the illegal funds to Kweon. Once considered a close confidant of President Yoon, Kweon had maintained that he only met the church official for a meal and did not receive any money. However, the Seoul High Court dismissed this claim, citing evidence from special counsel Min Joong-ki's team.

Kweon's argument that the indictment fell outside special counsel Min's mandate, which was to investigate corruption allegations related to former first lady Kim Keon Hee, was also rejected by the appellate court. Kweon, who served as the PPP's floor leader until June 2025, was arrested in September and indicted the following month. Special counsel Min's team had initially requested a four-year prison term and a forfeit of 100 million won for Kweon.

In related developments, the Supreme Court finalized lower court rulings on other defendants indicted by special counsel Min's team. The court upheld the acquittal of Kim Ye-seong, an associate of the former first lady, on embezzlement charges, while confirming a 14-month prison term for Lee Jong-ho, another associate of Kim. Lee was charged with offering to help a stock price manipulation suspect receive a lighter sentence in exchange for money.