Independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo sentenced for cash-for-nomination scheme

A Seoul district court handed down a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence to independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo after finding her guilty of accepting 100 million won from former Seoul city councilor Kim Kyung in January 2022. The payment was made in return for Kang’s influence as a member of the Democratic Party of Korea’s nomination committee for Seoul councilors, securing Kim’s candidacy in that year’s local elections.

The court also ordered Kang to surrender the 100 million won she had received. Kim Kyung was sentenced to one year in prison, and a former aide to Kang received an eight-month term suspended for two years for arranging the illicit meeting. The judges emphasized that the exchange of illegal political funds damaged the fairness of elections and eroded public confidence in the political system. Kang had departed from the Democratic Party of Korea earlier in the year after a recording surfaced of her discussing the payment with former party floor leader Kim Byung-kee.