The Judicial Risk of Lee Jae-myung Becomes Reality...Heavy Sentence Expected Next Week in 'Perjury Coaching' Case

Confession of 'Perjury' with Voice Recording File
Election Law Violation Case Expected to be Confirmed Before Presidential Election
Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Indicts on Charges of Misusing Gyeonggi Province Corporate Card

Last week, as Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence for the crime of false statement under the Public Official Election Act, his judicial risks began to materialize. There are now prospects that he will receive a heavy sentence in the upcoming 'perjury coaching' case scheduled for next week.

With the prevailing view that the results of Public Official Election Act violation cases, which have trial period limits, are unlikely to be overturned in the second trial, if another heavy sentence is handed down, it will practically become difficult for Lee to run in the next presidential election. As a result, the Democratic Party's resistance to the court rulings is expected to intensify.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is wearing a stern expression at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 18th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Chief Judge Kim Dong-hyun) will hold the sentencing hearing for Lee’s perjury coaching case on the 25th at 2 p.m.

Lee was indicted last October on charges of coaching Kim Jin-sung, the late Kim Byung-ryang’s former secretary when he was mayor of Seongnam, to commit perjury as a witness in Lee’s trial for false statement under the Public Official Election Act in December 2018. At that time, Lee was on trial for making false statements during a TV debate as a Gyeonggi Province governor candidate in May 2018, claiming he was falsely accused, despite having been convicted by the Supreme Court in 2004 for impersonating a public official in the so-called 'prosecutor impersonation' case.

The prosecution alleges that Kim received multiple phone calls from Lee around December 2018 requesting perjury, and that Kim actually committed perjury in court as requested by Lee. Kim was charged with perjury, and Lee was charged with coaching perjury.

On February 14, 2019, Kim appeared as a witness at the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch for Lee’s Public Official Election Act violation trial. After taking the witness oath, Kim testified that although he did not know or remember whether there was such an agreement or atmosphere, he stated that there was an agreement or atmosphere to withdraw a complaint against producer Choi to frame Lee as the main culprit between Kim Byung-ryang and KBS during the prosecutor impersonation case, according to the prosecution’s indictment.

In the legal community, the possibility of a guilty verdict and a heavy sentence in the perjury coaching case is viewed as higher than in the Public Official Election Act violation case, where a suspended prison sentence was previously handed down.

The Supreme Court of Korea adopts the 'subjective theory' as the standard for determining 'falsehood' in perjury, which considers whether the testimony contradicts the witness’s inner memory. In addition to Kim’s confession that he was coached by Lee to commit perjury and actually did so in court, various pieces of evidence supporting guilt have been submitted to the court, including a voice recording of Lee asking Kim for favorable testimony, and circumstances showing that Lee’s lawyer provided Kim with questions and model answers to practice in court.

This case was also one where Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, who dismissed Lee’s arrest warrant last September, stated that the charges appeared to be substantiated. Even while awaiting sentencing for the Public Official Election Act violation case, Lee repeatedly posted on his Facebook claiming innocence and calling this case a 'failed coaching,' which can be interpreted as reflecting the high possibility of guilt in this case.

While the Public Official Election Act violation distorts voters’ will and undermines the function of the election system and representative democracy, the crime of coaching perjury undermines the judicial function of the state, with the victim being the court or judicial authorities. Therefore, it is known to often result in prison sentences compared to other crimes.

The legal community generally believes that the possibility of 'detention in court,' as mentioned by Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, is low, but there are many views that a prison sentence could be imposed.

A lawyer who recently served as a chief judge said, "It is true that many judges have a negative view of Lee’s attitude toward the trial and the behavior of Democratic Party lawmakers who seem to disregard the judiciary. Since Lee has already been sentenced to a penalty that could result in loss of eligibility to run for office, the trial court handling the perjury coaching case is clearly under less pressure regarding sentencing."

The Public Official Election Act stipulates that for election crimes, the second trial verdict must be delivered within three months from the first trial verdict date, and the Supreme Court verdict must be delivered within three months from the second trial verdict date. Although the Supreme Court interprets this provision, marked as a 'mandatory rule' in the law, as a 'guidance rule,' the trial courts inevitably feel pressure regarding the trial period compared to other general crimes. It is highly likely that the Supreme Court’s final ruling will be issued before March 2027, when the next presidential election is held.

Meanwhile, in the Public Official Election Act violation case, the first trial court acquitted Lee of the controversial part regarding 'not knowing about Kim Moon-gi during his time as mayor of Seongnam,' but still sentenced him to lose his seat as a lawmaker. Therefore, the dominant view is that the verdict or sentence is unlikely to be overturned or significantly reduced in the second trial. Since the part concerning whether the act could be considered a 'false statement' was already acquitted in the first trial, there is no legal ground to contest it in the appeal.

When a fine of 1 million won or more is confirmed for election crimes, the right to run for public office is restricted for five years; when a suspended prison sentence is confirmed, the restriction lasts for ten years. If sentenced to imprisonment or higher for coaching perjury, the right to run for office is not granted until the sentence is extinguished. According to the Act on the Execution and Exemption of Sentences, imprisonment or detention exceeding three years is extinguished ten years after completion or exemption of the sentence, and imprisonment or detention of three years or less is extinguished after five years.

On the same day, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office Public Investigation Division (Chief Prosecutor Heo Hoon) indicted Lee, former Gyeonggi Province Secretary-General A, and former Gyeonggi Province special service official B without detention on charges of embezzlement (breach of trust) for privately using Gyeonggi Province corporate cards and other budgets.

Lee is accused of privately using Gyeonggi Province official vehicles from July 2018 to October 2021 during his tenure as governor, and spending a total of 106.53 million won on sandwiches, fruit, and meals using Gyeonggi Province budgets such as corporate cards.

Thus, the number of trials Lee faces has increased from four to five, including three cases ongoing at the Seoul Central District Court?▲ Public Official Election Act violation (false statement), ▲ Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, Wirye New Town development corruption and Seongnam FC illegal sponsorship (breach of trust under the Specific Economic Crimes Act and third-party bribery, etc.), ▲ perjury coaching?and one case under trial at the Suwon District Court?▲ North Korea remittance (third-party bribery and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, etc.).