Yoon referred to prosecution on new election law violation charges

Police said on Wednesday that they have referred former President Yoon Suk Yeol to the prosecution on new election law violation charges over alleged false statements that he made ahead of the 2022 presidential election

Yoon is accused of falsely claiming that his wife, Kim Keon Hee, was not involved in a stock price manipulation scheme when he ran as the main opposition People Power Party’s presidential candidate between October 2021 and February 2022.

A special police investigation team determined that the alleged false statements violated the election law and sent the case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

The move comes after an appellate court in April found Kim guilty for her role in the stock price manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in Korea. The case is currently on appeal at the Supreme Court.

Yoon has already been convicted of separate election law violations. A Seoul district court on Monday sentenced him to a suspended prison term for making other false claims ahead of the 2022 presidential election.

The jailed former president has been standing multiple trials following his failed martial law bid in December 2024. He was sentenced to life in prison in February for leading an insurrection through his emergency martial law decree. He has appealed the ruling. 

Yonhap