Shin Jang-sik, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, speaks at a supreme council meeting held Monday at the "Citizens' Situation Room for Completing Prosecution Reform," set up on the steps of Rotunda Hall at the National Assembly. [Yonhap]
Shin Jang-sik, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, speaks at a supreme council meeting held Monday at the "Citizens' Situation Room for Completing Prosecution Reform," set up on the steps of Rotunda Hall at the National Assembly. [Yonhap]

The Rebuilding Korea Party on Monday called on the People Power Party to prepare to return 39.7 billion won ($27.1 million) in election funds, following a first-instance court ruling that found former President Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of making false public statements during the presidential campaign.

Rebuilding Korea Party lawmakers Jeong Chun-saeng, Cha Gyu-geun and Kang Gyeong-suk held a press conference at the National Assembly on Monday, saying the PPP "must also bear responsibility" for having nominated Yoon as its presidential candidate.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 21, presided over by Chief Judge Jo Sun-pyo, sentenced Yoon to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

The court found Yoon guilty of making false statements at a Gwanhun Club debate on Dec. 14, 2021, when he was a presidential candidate — specifically, claiming he had never introduced a lawyer surnamed Lee, a former senior prosecutor, to Yoon Woo-jin, the former head of the Yongsan Tax Office.

Under the Public Official Election Act, if a presidential candidate wins or receives at least 15 percent of the vote, the National Election Commission reimburses the full cost of the campaign. However, if the candidate is later handed a conviction that voids the election result — a fine of 1 million won or more — the party must return the full amount.

"The election funds reimbursed to the PPP in the last presidential election amount to 39.7 billion won," the party said. "This vast sum of taxpayer money, paid out on the basis of a fraudulent campaign, must be returned to the national treasury. The PPP should begin preparing to return those election funds now."

The lawmakers also said the PPP "has still not escaped the shadow of an insurrection party," adding that party leader Jang Dong-hyeok "continues to rely on street-level politics and cling to calls for Yoon's return and claims of election fraud." They demanded that Jang and the PPP leadership "apologize to the public and resign immediately."

They added: "If they ultimately refuse to reflect and reform, they should bear in mind that the judgment will not end with the court's ruling — a far sterner verdict from the people awaits."


sunpine@heraldcorp.com