Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating the Political Funds Act by receiving illegal polling services during his 2022 presidential campaign.

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to two years in prison after a Seoul court found him guilty of violating the country's Political Funds Act by accepting illegal polling services during his 2022 presidential election campaign.

According to local media, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Yoon received 14 free public opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun, who sought political favors in return.

The court found that Yoon improperly exercised his influence over the nomination of a parliamentary by-election candidate in exchange for Myung's support during the 2022 presidential race.

Independent Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who is leading the investigation into corruption allegations involving Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, had sought a four-year prison sentence for the former president.

Myung was sentenced to 18 months in prison, a lighter sentence than the three years requested by prosecutors.

Prosecutors alleged that between June 2021 and March 2022, Yoon and his wife conspired to receive 58 free private opinion polls from Myung in return for helping secure the nomination of a former People Power Party lawmaker in a parliamentary by-election later that year.

The latest conviction adds to a series of legal rulings against Yoon. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a seven-year prison sentence after finding that he abused the presidential security service to obstruct the execution of an arrest warrant issued by the anti-corruption agency in January 2025.

Earlier this year, Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment over charges related to his declaration of martial law, and in June he received an additional 30-year prison sentence on charges of high treason linked to the alleged infiltration of drones into North Korea.

Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, but the measure was overturned by the National Assembly just hours later.

In April 2025, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld his impeachment, formally removing him from office.

While in detention in January 2025, Yoon became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested and indicted on charges of leading an insurrection. (ILKHA)