Seoul: The Supreme Court has confirmed an acquittal of the head of an inter-Korean exchange group who sent a letter praising late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and a condolence wreath over his death more than a decade ago, officials said Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, on Dec. 4, the top court upheld a lower court ruling that found Kim Kyung-sung, chief of the Inter-Korean Sports Exchange Association, not guilty of violating the National Security Act. This act prohibits praising an anti-state organization or its members. Kim was earlier indicted on charges of handing the letter to a North Korean official in February 2010, coinciding with the North Korean leader's birthday, and sending the wreath to the North Korean Embassy in China after Kim Jong-il's death in December 2011.

While Kim was initially found guilty of violating the law, an appellate court later overturned the ruling. The court concluded that it was not clearly proven whether the defendant's actions posed a "clear danger" to the state or the liberal democratic order. However, the court imposed a fine of 10 million won (US$6,950) on Kim for separate charges. These included embezzling donations in 2013, sending football shoes worth 60 million won to the North without the unification minister's approval in 2015, and sending about $300,000 to China without reporting it to customs in the same year.

The prosecution and the defendant both filed for an appeal, but the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling. It stated that it did not find any issues with the verdict.