South Korea’s Supreme Court has finalized a suspended prison sentence for former lawmaker Kang Hyo-sang for leaking the contents of a confidential phone call between then-President Moon Jae-in and former US President Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court in January upheld a lower court ruling sentencing Kang, a former member of the Liberty Korea Party — the predecessor of the People Power Party — to six months in prison, suspended for one year, on charges including leaking diplomatic secrets.
A former senior diplomat at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, whose name has been withheld, was also convicted in the case. The court confirmed a suspended indictment equivalent for the diplomat, who received a four-month prison sentence with the conviction deferred.
Kang was indicted for obtaining and disclosing details of a phone call between Moon and Trump in May 2019 regarding the US president’s possible visit to South Korea. Prosecutors said Kang received the information from the diplomat, who went to the same high school as Kang.
On the day of the call, Kang held a news conference at the National Assembly and announced that Moon had asked Trump to visit South Korea during their conversation.
At the time, the contents of the Moon-Trump phone call were classified as a third-grade diplomatic secret by the Foreign Ministry.
Investigators found that Kang had asked the diplomat to share the information, saying he would use it only as a reference for his parliamentary duties.
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com
