[News Idiom] Lee Jae-myung: "Compared to the People's Suffering... Changhae Ilsok"

"As the saying goes, 'Changhae Ilsok (滄海一粟),' the difficulties I face are like a single grain of millet in a vast ocean."

This is what Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said to reporters after being acquitted in the first trial of the perjury coaching case on the 25th.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking to the press after the first trial verdict hearing for the charge of 'subornation of perjury' held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 25th. On this day, the first trial court acquitted Lee, who was indicted on charges of subornation of perjury. Photo by Joint Press Corps

'Changhae Ilsok' means 'a single grain of millet in a vast and wide ocean,' referring to something very insignificant and small among many or vast things. Lee said, "Compared to the hardships and suffering our people endure, the difficulties I face seem trivial."

The background of Lee bringing up Changhae Ilsok dates back to 2002 when he was a lawyer.

At that time, Lee was fined 1.5 million won for participating in deceiving former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang by pretending to be a prosecutor during a KBS PD's investigation of the so-called 'Bundang Parkview preferential sale' case.

This case resurfaced during the 2018 local elections when Lee ran as a candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor. At a debate for the gubernatorial candidates, Lee stated, "I never impersonated a prosecutor to make a phone call. I was falsely accused of helping because I was interviewed next to the PD who did it." However, the prosecution indicted him for spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act, claiming he lied as if unrelated to the case despite being convicted.

The case seemed to conclude with the Supreme Court's acquittal, but the atmosphere changed when Kim, who was the secretary to former Mayor Kim, confessed to perjury in court at that time. The prosecution believed Lee coached Kim to commit perjury and indicted Lee last October on charges of perjury coaching. Lee has denied the charges, saying he only told Kim to "tell the truth as you remember it." The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun) ruled that Lee's statements to Kim were not clearly beyond the scope of the right to defense and, considering all statements comprehensively, found insufficient evidence of intent to coach perjury, thus acquitting him.

This acquittal is seen as partially relieving Lee of political burdens caused by judicial risks. Just ten days earlier, on the 15th, Lee was sentenced to one year in prison with two years of probation in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act. There were concerns that a heavy sentence in this perjury coaching trial could lead to a political crisis for Lee, but the immediate threat has been averted. However, Lee's judicial risks are not entirely resolved. Besides this acquittal in the perjury coaching trial, Lee is facing four other trials related to the Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam FC, Wirye allegations, and the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case.