Lee Highlights 'Judicial Risk'...Focus on Nationwide 'Charges'
Some View as Indirect Pressure on Judiciary...Severe Sentences in Past Trials
As the first trial verdict for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on election law violations approaches, the ruling and opposition parties are engaged in a tense battle over live broadcasting of the trial. Since this verdict could affect Lee's eligibility to run for the next presidential election, the People Power Party insists that the first trial verdict be broadcast live to the entire nation. On the other hand, the Democratic Party, confident in Lee's innocence, countered that the ruling party is pressuring the court by demanding live coverage.
According to political and legal circles on the 12th, the court is expected to decide as early as that day whether to allow live broadcasting of the first trial verdict in Lee's election law violation case. In past major cases, the decision on live coverage was made three days before the trial, and the court is known to consider public interest and the defendant's wishes comprehensively.
The reason the People Power Party strongly requests live broadcasting of Lee's trial is that it can be used as a card to highlight the opposition leader's 'judicial risk' to the entire nation. Even if Lee is acquitted, they believe that the specific 'charges' will be publicly disclosed in real time before the whole nation, potentially shaping negative public opinion. It is also expected to have the effect of diverting attention from the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act.'
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is heading to the courtroom on the 8th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to attend the continued first trial related to the 'Daejang-dong breach of trust and Seongnam FC bribery' case. Photo by Jo Yong-jun
The core issue in Lee's public official election law violation trial on the 15th is whether there was a 'deliberate lie.' The case concerns whether Lee's statement in a broadcast interview in December 2021, before the presidential election, that he 'did not know' Ko Moon-gi, the late head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and a key figure in the Baekhyeon-dong development project, constitutes false information disclosure. The prosecution views this as false information disclosure and has sought the maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Some believe this could indirectly pressure the court. Past first trial verdicts that were broadcast live include former President Park Geun-hye's conviction in the state affairs manipulation case and former President Lee Myung-bak's embezzlement and bribery case. In those cases, former President Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined 18 billion won, and former President Lee was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Since the entire nation watches the trial as overseers, it is explained that this could influence the verdict to some extent.
The Democratic Party criticized the ruling party's demand for live broadcasting as an attempt to 'humiliate.' The opposition claims that the ruling party is pressuring the court despite Lee's clear innocence. The Democratic Party is responding by strengthening public opinion campaigns urging Lee's acquittal. As of the previous day, over 1.05 million people had signed a petition calling for Lee's acquittal, led by the Democratic Party's largest pro-Lee faction, the Democratic Party National Innovation Council. The Innovation Council plans to hold a rally with about 5,000 supporters in front of the Seoul Central District Court on the day of Lee's verdict trial on the 15th, urging acquittal. Meanwhile, if Lee is sentenced in the first trial to a punishment restricting his eligibility to run for office, it is expected that the influence of the anti-Lee faction within the party could grow.
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