Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was sentenced to a fine of 5 million won for registering an intern falsely in his National Assembly office and receiving salary. However, he retained his parliamentary position. Members of the National Assembly lose their position when a prison sentence of imprisonment or higher is confirmed in a general criminal case.
On the 12th, the Supreme Court's first division, led by Chief Justice Seo Kyung-hwan, upheld the second trial's verdict which sentenced Yoon to a fine of 5 million won for fraud charges.
Previously, while serving as the director of planning at the Korea Future Development Institute (Future Institute) in August 2011, Yoon was accused of falsely registering staff member Kim Ha-ni as an intern in the office of then-Assemblyman Baek Won-woo and receiving a salary of approximately 5.45 million won from the National Assembly for over five months.
In 2021, the prosecution filed a summary indictment against Yoon, proposing a fine of 3 million won. The court increased this amount, issuing a summary order of a fine of 5 million won. However, Yoon contested this, leading to a formal trial.
The first trial sentenced Yoon to a fine of 5 million won. The first trial court stated, “It is acknowledged that Yoon and others conspired to embezzle National Assembly intern salaries.” The second trial also delivered the same verdict, with the court noting, “Submitting false documents while not working as a National Assembly intern tricks the responsible staff of the National Assembly.”
Yoon's side appealed this decision. However, the Supreme Court found no issues with the second trial ruling and confirmed the fine of 5 million won.