"Ruthless Atrocities to Eliminate Political Opponents... Will Strengthen Prosecution Reform"
The Democratic Party of Korea stated on the 20th that the prosecution's demand for a 2-year prison sentence against Representative Lee Jae-myung on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act is "an outrageous demand aimed at eliminating political opponents, and it will be proven innocent in the court of truth."
Chief Spokesperson Cho Seung-rae criticized in a written briefing on the same day, saying, "The prosecution, obsessed with eliminating President Yoon Seok-yeol's political opponents and suppressing the opposition party, has made absurd demands that are laughable." The prosecution judged that Lee's statement in a broadcast interview on December 22, 2021, when he was the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, regarding the late Kim Moon-gi, former Head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, that he "did not know him during his tenure as mayor because he was a subordinate staff member," constituted the publication of false facts under the Public Official Election Act.
The sentencing hearing for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act by spreading false statements during the last presidential election, was held on the 20th at the Seoul Central District Court. Lee is answering reporters' questions before entering the courthouse, surrounded by top committee members who came to support him. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@
Chief Spokesperson Cho pointed out regarding the prosecution's judgment, "How can Lee's memory that he 'did not know Kim during his tenure as mayor' be considered false information?" He further criticized that the prosecution changed the indictment during the trial to prosecute Lee, saying, "Even the prosecution admitted that this indictment is sloppy and full of loopholes." Cho emphasized, "The prosecution went as far as fabricating testimonies and stitching together evidence to create a crime that does not exist," and added, "The Democratic Party will work harder on prosecutorial reform to end the outrageous acts of political prosecution, including biased investigations and groundless indictments."
The Democratic Party's Committee Against Prosecutorial Dictatorship also condemned the demand in a press conference, calling it "political oppression through a fabricated investigation," and "the ultimate form of prosecutorial dictatorship that distorts the law using legal technicalities, shaking the foundation of democracy and the rule of law, a personal coup d'?tat."
The committee stated, "The prosecution hunted Representative Lee Jae-myung through unfair investigations. The prosecution focused solely on being a loyal hunting dog for the prosecutorial dictatorship regime," and added, "We will consider filing complaints regarding the fabricated cases committed by political prosecutors so far." They pointed out, "The subjects of publication under the crime of false fact publication under the Public Official Election Act include birthplace, family relations, status, occupation, career, property, actions, and support status," and noted, "The statement that he did not know during his tenure as mayor pertains to perception, consciousness, and memory, which do not fall under the category of publication subjects."
The committee claimed, "The prosecution used patchwork investigations with predetermined conclusions, even resorting to changing labels and patching official documents, and did not correct these despite being pointed out during the trial," and "They even manipulated blog photos and presented them as evidence." Regarding the prosecution's expression that Lee had a 'friendly relationship' with former Head Kim over 12 years, the committee said, "It is a strange term not even listed in the Korean dictionary," and criticized, "Because of the forced indictment, the prosecution's premises and explanations are lengthy."
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