Lee Jae-myung Election Law Violation Appeal Court Suspends New Case Assignment... 'Trial Delay' Tactic Halted

Appellate Court Suspends Assignment of New Cases for Two Months

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

The appellate court handling the public official election law violation case against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has decided not to assign any new cases until mid-March. This is interpreted as a determination to focus solely on Lee's trial and expedite the process. It is also expected to curb Lee's side's 'trial delay' tactics, as they have neither appointed a public defender nor responded to notifications of litigation records since the appeal.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-2 (Presiding Judges Choi Eun-jung, Lee Ye-seul, Jeong Jae-oh), which is hearing Lee's election law violation case, has suspended the assignment of new cases from the 13th of this month until March 12th, about two months. The court's request was accepted based on the Supreme Court regulations allowing suspension of new case assignments if focused hearings are necessary.

Lee was indicted without detention in September 2022 on charges of false statement under the Public Official Election Act related to allegations of preferential treatment in changing the use of the site of the Korean Food Research Institute in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam, involving the late Kim Moon-gi, head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, during Lee's 2021 Democratic Party presidential candidacy. The first trial sentenced him to one year in prison with a two-year probation.

If this ruling is confirmed by the Supreme Court, Lee, a leading candidate for the next presidential election, will lose his eligibility to run for office. The 6-3-3 principle of the Public Official Election Act (six months for the first trial, three months each for the second and third trials) applies to Lee's election law case, and if the first trial's verdict is upheld by the Supreme Court, Lee's path to the presidential race will be blocked. Both Lee and the prosecution appealed the first trial's verdict, and the first hearing of the second trial is scheduled for the 23rd at 3 p.m.