Lee Su-jeong "Why I Didn't Join Lee Jae-myung's Campaign Committee? Defending My Nephew in a Murder Case... Completely Opposite to My Philosophy"

"Lee Claims 'Diminished Mental Capacity' in Stalking Murder... Also Argues 'Alcohol Mitigation' in Other Case"

Professor Lee Su-jeong of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University is giving a lecture at the 2021 First Half Special Education on Gender Sensitivity and Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Other Violence held at the Multipurpose Hall of Seoul City Hall on the afternoon of May 11. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University, who was appointed as co-chair of the People Power Party's election countermeasures committee, stated regarding Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, defending a nephew's murder case, "It is completely opposite to my philosophy, so I thought I simply could not side with Lee Jae-myung."

On the 9th, appearing on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs,' Professor Lee explained her choice of the People Power Party by saying, "I get asked, 'Why didn't you side with candidate Lee Jae-myung?' I am someone who has devoted over ten years to legislating the Stalking Punishment Act," and added, "But stalking murders still occur. Even after restraining orders, victims still die."

She continued, "I believe that 'strict enforcement of restraining orders is of utmost importance,' and at that time, news coincidentally reported that candidate Lee had defended stalking murder cases in the past," explaining, "The defense logic for stalking murder was based on diminished mental capacity. And it was not just one case but two; besides the nephew murder case, there was another case he defended. That one involved a reduction due to intoxication."

She further stated, "I am someone who strongly detests intoxication as a mitigating factor. This is unacceptable. Is it a world where killing a woman brutally while drunk can be excused? Stalking murders are mostly premeditated because of the stalking period, so they are never impulsive murders. So, does it make sense to say, 'Please forgive me because I was drunk'? Therefore, I thought it was completely opposite to my philosophy," she revealed.

Professor Lee also mentioned on the previous day’s YTN Radio program 'Lee Dong-hyung's News Face-off,' "(Candidate Lee's) defense logic contradicted all the philosophies I have worked on for over ten years. If it had been just one case, it wouldn’t have been a big problem, and I might have thought, 'Because it’s a nephew.' But the problem is that it is not just one case," she said.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is performing a bow of apology while stating "We will be reborn as a new Democratic Party" at a meeting to promote livelihood and reform legislation held on the 24th of last month in the conference room of the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

The nephew case involved a mother and daughter murder incident that occurred in May 2006 in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. Candidate Lee’s nephew, Mr. A, stabbed to death his ex-girlfriend, who had broken up with him, and her mother multiple times with a weapon. Candidate Lee handled the first and second trial defenses for the case and argued for a reduced sentence due to diminished mental capacity. Mr. A’s life sentence was confirmed in 2007.

Additionally, candidate Lee is known to have defended, along with another lawyer, the 'Seongnam Sujeong-gu murder case' in 2007, where the perpetrator Mr. B killed a woman in her 40s who had broken up with him.

On the 24th of last month, candidate Lee apologized, saying, "One of my relatives committed a serious crime of dating violence in the past, and since the family could not afford to hire a lawyer, I, being the only lawyer in the family, had no choice but to take on the defense," and added, "I offer my deepest condolences and apologies to the victims and their families of that case."

Meanwhile, Professor Lee also commented on the recent controversy surrounding Kim Gun-hee, wife of People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl, and Jo Dong-yeon, a professor at Seokyeong University who was recruited as candidate Lee’s 'No. 1 talent' but later resigned, saying, "Isn’t this harsh on women? It’s unfortunate."

She continued, "I don’t understand why women are caught up in this chaos when choosing a president. If the presidential candidate himself has flaws, that is a big problem, but if not, it’s something to watch for now," emphasizing, "This is not a national mother election. We should just elect a president who will do the job well and uphold the rule of law."