Prosecutors Indict Democratic Party Lawmaker Lee Sang-sik Without Detention for Violation of Public Official Election Act

Kim Eun-hye, People Power Party Lawmaker, Deferred Prosecution

Lee Sang-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yongin-si Gap), who is accused of underreporting his assets in the April 10 general election, has been indicted.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Public Investigation Division of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Heo Hoon) indicted Lee without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. Lee is accused of underreporting his total assets from 9.6 billion KRW to about 7.3 billion KRW during the asset declaration process for the April 10 general election. The prosecution judged that among the assets reported by Lee, the value of artworks owned by his spouse, which exceeded 4 billion KRW, was falsely reported as approximately 1.78 billion KRW.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-sik, who ran for the 22nd National Assembly election in Yongin Gap, is holding a bouquet and celebrating as his victory became certain on the 11th at the election office in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee is also accused of spreading false information in a statement distributed in March this year. In the statement, Lee explained, "In 2020, the value of my spouse's artworks was 1.5 billion KRW, and although the value of works such as those by Lee Ufan has surged 3 to 4 times recently, I have continued to hold the artworks as of 2024, so it is only unrealized gains and I did not pay taxes." However, the prosecution viewed that Lee's assets increased due to the sale of artworks, not because of an increase in the value of the artworks themselves.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Song Jun-gu) issued a suspension of indictment against Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party (Seongnam-si Bundang-gu Eul), who was accused of violating the Public Official Election Act. Kim was reported for campaigning while wearing a coat with her name on it on public transportation where election campaigning is prohibited in February this year. It is reported that Kim handed out one business card to a bus driver at the time.