60s Man Who Threw Chicken Bone Bowl at Lee Jae-myung Receives Suspended Prison Sentence in Second Trial

Sentenced to 4 Months Imprisonment with 1 Year Probation in First Trial
Appeal Dismissed by Second Trial Court

A man in his 60s who was indicted for throwing a metal bowl at Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, while he was campaigning on the streets during the by-election for the National Assembly seat in Gyeyang-eul, Incheon last year, was sentenced to a suspended prison term again in the appellate court following the first trial.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-2 (Presiding Judges Park Won-cheol, Lee Ui-young, Won Jong-chan) dismissed the appeal of A (63), who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, on the 29th of last month, and ordered a 4-month prison sentence with a 1-year suspension and 80 hours of community service, the same as in the first trial.

In May, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate running in the Incheon Gyeyang-eul by-election for the National Assembly, is seen looking at a metal bowl thrown by Mr. A during a street campaign. Photo by Yonhap News

The court stated, "The crime is not minor as it infringes on the freedom of elections, which is a fundamental social legal interest beyond personal legal interests," and added, "The crime is serious also because it can have psychological and intangible effects on general voters who learn about it through media reports."

A claimed that the sentence in the first trial was "too heavy," but the court rejected this, saying, "The circumstances claimed by the defendant were already sufficiently considered in the original trial."

A was indicted for disrupting election campaigning by throwing a metal bowl at Lee and his party while they were campaigning on the streets in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, on May 20 last year. While drinking with an acquaintance on the outdoor terrace of a first-floor restaurant, A threw a stainless steel bowl used for chicken bones when Lee passed in front of the store. In the police investigation, he stated, "I threw the bowl because it was noisy."

After A was detained, Lee submitted a letter of no punishment through a representative to the court.