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People's Power Rep. Kim Yong-sung and Kim Tae-woo, chairman of Seoul's Kang Seo-seo Agency, lost their positions as members of the National Assembly and district offices, respectively, due to the Supreme Court's ruling today (18th). Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon, who was accused of violating the Public Offices Election Act, was found not guilty.

Reporter Kim Sang-min reports.

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Rep. Kim Yong Yong of the People's Power, who was accused of illegally collecting donations during the 2020 21st general election campaign, has lost his parliamentary seat due to a Supreme Court ruling.

Rep. Kim's acquittal was confirmed, but Mr. A, an accounting officer who was brought to trial on the same charge, was fined 1 million won.

Under the current Public Office Election Act, if the person in charge of accounting for a member of the National Assembly commits an accounting-related crime during the election process and is sentenced to imprisonment or fined more than 300 million won, the election is invalid.

Rep. Kim was acquitted in the first and second trials, but Mr. A was sentenced to a fine of 1 million won in the first trial and 2 million won in the second trial.

Kim Tae-woo, the head of Seoul's Kang Seo Bureau, who exposed the allegations of incompetence in the investigation of the Blue House's Special Inspector General during the Moon Jae-in administration, also lost his position as district mayor after the Supreme Court confirmed his one-year prison sentence and two years' probation.

Kim, a former investigator for the prosecution, was accused of leaking secrets he learned in the course of his official duties to the media on several occasions while working as a member of the Special Inspection Team of the Office of the Civil Affairs Commissioner of the Blue House.

The courts of first and second instance found Kim guilty of four of the 1 cases he disclosed, including "secret espionage of Ambassador Woo Yun-geun to Russia," as official secrets.

Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon, who was accused of violating election laws after denying allegations that he was involved in the National Intelligence Service's involvement in the preparation of documents for civilian inspections during the 800 by-election, was acquitted by the Supreme Court.

(Video editing: Lee So-young)