Appeals court acquits Yoon's mother-in-law

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- An appeals court acquitted the mother-in-law of main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday, striking down a prison term handed by a lower court on charges of taking state health insurance benefits after illegally opening a care hospital.

The Seoul High Court found the 76-year-old, surnamed Choi, not guilty, reversing an earlier three-year jail term sentenced to her in July last year on charges of opening the long-term care hospital for senior citizens in February 2013 without a medical license.

She was also cleared of charges that she illegally accepted 2.29 billion won (US$2.02 million) in state benefits from the National Health Insurance Service until 2015 to run the hospital.

Choi pleaded innocent, saying she merely listed herself as a co-chair of a medical foundation overseeing the hospital after offering a loan for the establishment of the foundation. She also claimed she was not involved in opening the hospital or operating the facility.

The court said the prosecution's case was insufficient in proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Choi conspired with partners in the early stages of the hospital's establishment.

An investigation into the case began in 2015 and initially implicated only the three partners, leading to a four-year prison sentence for one and suspended prison sentences for the other two.

The case was later reopened after a group of plaintiffs, including Rep. Choe Kang-wook of the then minor Open Democratic Party, filed a complaint in April 2020 over various allegations involving Yoon, who was then prosecutor general, his wife and his mother-in-law.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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