Police said Wednesday they have referred former President Yoon Suk Yeol to prosecutors on new election law violation charges over alleged false statements made ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
Yoon is accused of falsely claiming that his wife, Kim Keon Hee, was not involved in a stock price manipulation scheme when he ran as the main opposition People Power Party's presidential candidate between October 2021 and February 2022.
A special police investigation team determined that the alleged false statements violated the election law and sent the case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
The move comes after an appellate court in April found Kim guilty for her role in the stock price manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea. The case is currently on appeal at the Supreme Court.
Yoon has already been convicted of separate election law violations. A Seoul district court sentenced him to a suspended prison term on Monday for making other false claims ahead of the election in March 2022.
