Appellate court upholds fine on liberal party chief

A Seoul appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling to fine a liberal party chief for violating election laws but stopped short of revoking her parliamentary seat.

Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party was fined 800,000 won ($714) after being found guilty of breaking the Public Official Election Act with false remarks ahead of the parliamentary election last April. The Seoul High Court confirmed the ruling.

Rep. Choo Mi-ae (R) of the liberal Democratic Party leaves the Seoul High Court on March 21, 2017, after being sentenced to a fine for violating election laws, which still allows her to keep her parliamentary seat. (Yonhap)

In South Korea, lawmakers lose their parliamentary seats if they are fined 1 million won or get a heavier punishment on charges of election law violations.

"Judging from records, the original verdict was justified, and we cannot find any illegalities, such as a misunderstanding of the facts, as claimed by the defendant," Judge Lee Sang-ju said.

Last March, Choo told reporters she was promised the retention of a Seoul district court during a 2003 meeting with the then chief of the Office of Court Administration.

The lower court found the claim to be false but ruled it did not have a major impact on the election. (Yonhap)