Appeals court acquits ex-President Yoon in 'free opinion polls' case

The Korea Times - Oct 7, 2026

An appellate court overturned a lower court ruling Wednesday, acquitting former President Yoon Suk Yeol of charges related to receiving free opinion polls ahead of the 2022 presidential election in violation of the political funds law. The Seoul High Court found Yoon not guilty of violating the Political Funds Act, which bans improper political donations, reversing the Seoul Central District Court's conviction in July that had sentenced him to two years in prison. Following the appellate ruling, special counsel Min Joong-ki's team indicated it would file an appeal to the Supreme Court, while Yoon's legal team welcomed the acquittal. Yoon had been indicted on charges of colluding with his wife and receiving 58 opinion polls worth about 270 million won ($202,000) in total for free from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun between April 2021 and March 2022. The appellate court ruled that Myung's provision of opinion polls could not be seen as political donations under the political funds law as they could not be categorized as having a benefit in terms of property. "While the politica

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