A Seoul court ordered a one-year prison term for a senior prosecutor accused of inciting criminal complaints ahead of the 2020 general elections against then-ruling liberal party figures in a bid to generate negative public sentiment.

The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday partially convicted Son Jun-sung of leaking classified information obtained during official duty without his immediate remand into custody.

Recognizing that Son had been involved in drawing up and reviewing the complaint, as well as the creation and collection of relevant information, the court stated that he had a motive as the accused were then-ruling party figures critical of the prosecution.

However, he was acquitted of violating the Public Official Election Act, in light of the difficulty in establishing that the filing of the complaint to two people close to the then-opposition conservative party had an impact on the outcome of the elections.

In April 2020, Son, while serving as the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's director of investigation and information policy, sent online images of the complaint to the then-conservative party candidate, Kim Woong, via Telegram.

This is the first conviction in an indictment by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials(CIO).

While Son said he plans to appeal the ruling, the CIO said it will first review the decision.