Top court upholds 1-year sentence for president's mother-in-law over forgery

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, enters the Uijeongbu District Court in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, on July 21. [YONHAP]

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's one-year prison sentence for President Yoon Suk Yeol's mother-in-law.

The 76-year-old Choi Eun-soon was found guilty of forging documents and purchasing property using other people's names.

Choi, in 2013, in acquiring real estate in Dochon-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, forged her bank statement to make it appear she had 34.9 billion won ($26.7 million) in deposit.

Yoon's mother-in-law purchased the property under the name of a relative of an accomplice.

The forged balance sheet was even submitted to a court during a legal battle regarding the real estate purchase.

Choi has been in prison since July, when she was arrested in court after sentencing by an appeals court.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]