SEOUL– A former conservative party lawmaker indicted for leaking the contents of a phone conversation between the leaders of South Korea and the United States in 2019 was given a suspended prison sentence by a court Tuesday.
The Seoul Central District Court handed down a six-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, to Khang Hyo-shang, a former lawmaker of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the ruling People Power Party, on charges of leaking diplomatic secrets.
Khang was accused of leaking the May 7, 2019, phone conversation between then President Moon Jae-in and then U.S. President Donald Trump after he was told what was discussed between the leaders by a diplomat who worked at the South Korean embassy in Washington D.C.
During the phone talks, Moon reportedly asked Trump to visit Seoul immediately after his May 25-28 trip to Japan, while Trump proposed a short stop in Seoul on his way back home from Tokyo. Khang made public the conversation, accusing Moon of “begging” for Trump’s visit.
The diplomat, who was indicted together with Khang, was given a deferred sentence of four months in prison by the same court.
Source: Yonhap News Agency