Court fine puts DP lawmaker’s Assembly seat at risk

A court on Friday sentenced Rep. Jeong Jun-ho of the ruling Democratic Party to a fine of 10 million won ($7,220) for violating election and political funding laws, a sentence that could strip him of his National Assembly seat if it is finalized.

The Gwangju District Court in Gwangju also ordered Jeong to forfeit 50 million won in connection with the same charges.

Jeong was indicted on charges of accepting 50 million won from the CEO of a construction company around July 2023, about nine months before the general elections in April 2024, in exchange for promising to hire the executive's child as his legislative assistant if elected to the National Assembly.

The lawmaker was also accused of making illicit payments to his campaign workers to operate a telephone campaign center between November 2023 and February 2024, ahead of the Democratic Party's primary for the 2024 general election.

By law, members of the National Assembly are stripped of their seats if they are sentenced to a final penalty of a fine of 1 million won or more for violating the election or political fund laws.

Jeong's trial resumed after prosecutors reindicted him following a February court decision dismissing the charges due to a prosecutorial error.

Yonhap