(LEAD) lawmaker-trial

▲ Rep. Kang Sun-woo, an independent, responds to reporters' questions as she appears for her trial on charges of violating the Political Funds Act at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Oct. 14, 2026. (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details)

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul district court on Wednesday sentenced independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges of receiving money in exchange for an election nomination.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence for Kang, formerly a member of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), also ordering her to forfeit 100 million won (US$75,000).

Prosecutors had sought a four-year prison term for Kang, accusing her of accepting 100 million won from former Seoul city councilor Kim Kyung in January 2022 in exchange for a DP nomination ahead of the local elections that year.

Kang served as a member of the DP's nomination committee for Seoul city councilors at the time. Kim was selected as a DP nominee and was elected in the 2022 local elections.

The court sentenced Kim to one year in prison and a former aide to Rep. Kang to an eight-month prison term, suspended for two years, for arranging the meeting between Kang and Kim.

The court ordered for Kang and Kim to be immediately placed under custody, citing concerns of flight and possible destruction of evidence. The two were both released on bail last month after being indicted under physical detention.

The court ruled the defendants exchanged illegal political funds, adding their actions undermined election fairness and "severely" damaged the public's trust.

Kang left the DP at the start of this year, shortly after the scandal surfaced following the disclosure of a recording in which Kang can be heard discussing the money with former DP floor leader Kim Byung-kee.

Prosecutors have also indicted Kang on additional charges of receiving illegal donations worth 130 million won from Kim through a number of borrowed names after the 2022 local elections.

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