Anchor: The Supreme Court has upheld lower court convictions for lawmakers Yi Byeong‑jin and Shin Yeong-dae of the ruling Democratic Party. The rulings have cost them their seats in parliament. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.  

Report: The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed lower court rulings that fined Rep. Yi Byeong‑jin seven million won for violating the Public Official Election Act and an additional five million won for breaching the Real‑Name Real Estate Act. 

Yi was previously convicted of omitting assets from his mandatory disclosures during the 2024 general elections. 

He was also convicted of registering land under another person’s name after jointly purchasing it with an acquaintance in August 2018, in violation of the real‑name property ownership law.  

The top court’s decision stripped Yi of his seat in parliament, as an elected official automatically loses their seat if a sentence of imprisonment or a fine of at least one million won for an election law violation becomes final. 

An election win is also invalidated if a lawmaker’s campaign manager receives a prison term or a fine of over 3 million won, or around two-thousand U.S. dollars.

Such is the case for Democratic Party Rep. Shin Yeong-dae’s former campaign manager, surnamed Kang, for whom the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an earlier conviction for buying off voters during the party primaries for the 2024 general elections. 

An appellate court earlier upheld the lower court’s conviction of Kang for violating the Public Official Election Act, as well as a one-year sentence suspended for two years. 

Kang was found guilty of providing 100 mobile phones and 15 million won to a former secretary-general of a para sports association in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, during the party primaries in late 2023, in return for giving false responses in a poll. 

The ruling against Kang has cost Shin his parliamentary seat as stipulated by law.

With both lawmakers’ seats now vacant, by-elections to fill their posts will be held together with the June 3 local elections.  

Lee’s electoral district is Pyeongtaek B District in Gyeonggi Province, while Shin’s electoral district covers the municipalities of Gunsan, Gimje and Buan in North Jeolla Province. 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.