Lee Jae-myung, One Week Left Until Appeal Trial for Election Law Violation... Court Accelerates Case Review

Lee's Appeal Trial Scheduled for 3 p.m. on the 23rd
Trial Panel to Suspend New Case Assignments for Two Months

The trial panel handling the public official election law violation case against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has decided not to assign new cases for two months. This move is interpreted as an effort by the panel to expedite the trial of Lee's case.

According to political and legal circles on the 15th, the appeal trial for Lee's election law violation case is scheduled for 3 p.m. on the 23rd. The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-2 (Chief Judge Choi Eun-jung) has decided not to assign new cases from the 13th until March 12 for two months. It is known that the trial panel can request the court to suspend new case assignments when intensive hearings are necessary.

Earlier, Lee was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial of the public official election law case last November. The first trial panel stated, "The guilt and crime are quite serious," adding, "While freedom of expression during the election process must be recognized, it is also necessary to consider that false information dissemination distorts public opinion."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The public official election law violation case surrounding Lee involves allegations that during the last presidential election period, he falsely claimed not to know Kim Moon-gi, former head of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and stated that "the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport threatened to change the land use of Baekhyeon-dong site" in relation to the Baekhyeon-dong development project.

If a heavy sentence is handed down again in the appeal trial following the first trial, it is expected to inevitably affect the presidential ambitions of the leader of the main opposition party due to moral shortcomings. Under the public official election law, a fine of 1 million won or more restricts the right to run for office for five years, and in the case of a prison sentence like Lee's, the restriction period is ten years. If this ruling is finalized by the Supreme Court, Lee will lose his parliamentary seat and be barred from running in elections for ten years. Additionally, the Democratic Party must return 43.4 billion won in presidential election subsidies.