Seoul court upholds Yoon's election-law conviction on appeal

As of 2:39 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026

A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday, Nov. 4, upheld former President Yoon Suk Yeol's conviction for making false statements during his 2022 presidential campaign, keeping his sentence of 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Herald reported.

The Seoul High Court dismissed Yoon's appeal of the Seoul Central District Court's July 27 ruling and found him guilty on both counts, the Herald reported. Yoon's lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court, calling the ruling "unjust in many respects." The conviction is not final while it remains under appeal.

What the court found

One count concerned Yoon's statement at a December 2021 debate that he had not introduced a lawyer to Yoon Woo-jin, a former tax official and the older brother of Yoon Dae-jin, a former senior prosecutor and close associate of the former president, according to the Herald. Yoon had argued that he did not make an introduction "in the legal sense." The court said his past remarks to a journalist supported the finding that he had.

The second count concerned statements in a January 2022 interview about his relationship with shaman Jeon Seong-bae, including his denial that he and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, had met Jeon together. The court found those statements false and said Yoon knew they were false.

"Voters' right to make an informed choice was infringed, and the fairness of the election and the lawfulness of its procedures were undermined," the court said, according to the Herald.

39.7 billion won at stake

Under South Korea's election law, a final conviction for these offenses carrying a fine of at least 1 million won or a heavier penalty invalidates the candidate's election, and the nominating party must return campaign costs reimbursed by the state. If Yoon's conviction becomes final, the People Power Party, now the main opposition, would have to return about 39.7 billion won, or roughly $30 million, Yonhap and the Herald reported.

The ruling Democratic Party welcomed the decision. "It is time for the PPP to take responsibility," party spokesperson Park Sung-joon said in a statement, according to the Herald. People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig called it "just an appellate ruling."

The special counsel law calls for the Supreme Court to rule within three months of the lower court's judgment, though that does not guarantee when a final ruling will come, the Herald reported.

Other cases

Yoon was removed from office in April 2025, when the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment over his Dec. 3, 2024, declaration of martial law. In a separate case, a district court sentenced him to life in prison in February for leading an insurrection through the martial law declaration; that ruling is under appeal, Yonhap reported. He faces other criminal proceedings as well.