"'Election Law to Shield Lee Jae-myung?' Park Hee-seung's Rebuttal: 'A Bill Prepared Immediately Upon Entering the National Assembly'"

On the 22nd, Park Heeseung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference to refute criticisms that the proposed amendment to the Public Official Election Act?which includes the abolition of the crime of false statement publication and the increase of the fine amount for election invalidation?was a "sycophantic bill to save Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea." He stated that accusations such as "saving Lee Jae-myung" are not true and that he has been preparing the related legal amendments based on his convictions.

At the press conference, Representative Park said, "Claims such as 'Lee Jae-myung shield' distort the facts without properly checking the contents of the bill." He explained, "As a judge, I have presided over cases related to the Public Official Election Act, and I have long held the conviction that it is inappropriate for the judiciary to handle election-related cases from the perspective of the separation of powers. Upon entering the 22nd National Assembly, I internally prepared this and, after requests and reviews by the National Assembly Legislative Office, the bill was proposed, which took time; it was not introduced to coincide with the election day of Representative Lee Jae-myung."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is accused of spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act, is attending the first trial sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

He stated, "The provisions on the 'crime of false statement publication' and the '100,000 KRW fine threshold for election invalidation' are disconnected from reality and cause significant side effects," adding, "Due to these provisions, accusations and complaints are rampant and are being abused as means to politically and socially strangle competitors." Representative Park explained, "Sometimes, this shakes the legitimacy of elected officials chosen through the rightful choice of voters and damages the values of democracy," and further clarified, "In particular, the 'crime of false statement publication for the purpose of losing an election' has a minimum fine of 5 million KRW, resulting in many cases where election invalidation sentences are imposed even for minor dissemination of false information."

Representative Park also said, "Especially, the 'crime of false statement publication for the purpose of losing an election' has a minimum fine of 5 million KRW, leading to many cases where election invalidation sentences are imposed even for minor falsehoods," and added, "Even if the crime of false statement publication is abolished under the Public Official Election Act in our country, it can still be punished under the Criminal Act."

He continued, "Because the 1 million KRW threshold for election invalidation is low, there are many cases where elected officials chosen by vote stand at the crossroads of survival or death depending on the judge's sentencing," and said, "Considering political factors, judges impose fines of 800,000 or 900,000 KRW, which distorts the essence of criminal trials and infringes on judicial discretion and the independence of the judiciary."

Representative Park also rebutted by citing that there were bills to raise the election invalidation threshold in the past Special Committee on Election Law Reform, asking, "At that time, who exactly was it for? Was it a 'great man’s lawmaking'?"