Seoul: Two lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party have been stripped of their parliamentary seats following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold lower court rulings on election law violations.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Supreme Court confirmed a 7 million-won (US$4,800) fine against Representative Yi Byeong-jin for underreporting his assets during the April 2024 parliamentary elections. Yi was found guilty of failing to disclose approximately 70 million won worth of stocks and a loan collateralized by land he owned in Asan. Additionally, the court upheld a separate 5 million-won fine against Yi for violating the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality, which mandates the use of real names in financial dealings.

The Supreme Court also upheld a ruling against Representative Shin Yeong-dae's former campaign manager, who was sentenced to a one-year prison term, suspended for two years, along with 120 hours of community service. This decision resulted in Shin losing his parliamentary seat. The campaign manager, Kang, was convicted of offering 15 million won and 100 mobile phones to a former sports association head in Gunsan to manipulate a Democratic Party primary opinion poll. The phones were reportedly used to generate false support for Shin, who narrowly secured the party nomination by less than 1 percentage point before winning a parliamentary seat in the subsequent general elections.

By law, a lawmaker is disqualified from holding a parliamentary seat if convicted of violating the Public Official Election Act and sentenced to a prison term or fined 1 million won or more. Similarly, their election is invalidated if their campaign manager is sentenced to a prison term or fined 3 million won or more.