Rep. Kang Sun-woo gets prison term over nomination cash

A Seoul district court on Wednesday sentenced independent Rep. Kang Sun-woo to two and a half years in prison on charges of receiving money in exchange for an election nomination.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down a sentence against Kang, formerly a member of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), and also ordered her to forfeit 100 million won ($75,000).

Kang was indicted on charges of accepting 100 million won from former Seoul city councilor Kim Kyung in January 2022 in exchange for a DP nomination ahead of that year's local elections.

Kang served on the DP's nomination committee for Seoul city councilors at the time. Kim was selected as a DP nominee and was elected in the 2022 local elections.

The court sentenced Kim to one year in prison and a former aide to Rep. Kang to an eight-month prison term, suspended for two years, for arranging the meeting between Kang and Kim.

The court ruled the defendants exchanged illegal political funds, adding that their actions undermined election fairness and "severely" damaged the public's trust.

Kang left the DP at the start of this year, shortly after the scandal surfaced following the disclosure of a recording in which Kang can be heard discussing the money with former DP floor leader Kim Byung-kee.

Yonhap