D-6 Until Lee's Fate 2nd Trial Verdict, Final All-Out Effort

Two Constitutional Review Requests and 15 Written Opinions Submitted in Three Weeks
Opinion Submitted on the 11th Spans Over 30 Pages, Asserting Innocence

Yonhap News

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, submitted a 30-page "Defendant's Statement" to the Criminal Division 6-4 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Choi Eun-jung, Lee Ye-seul, and Jung Jae-oh) on the 19th, one week before the appellate trial verdict for the violation of the Public Official Election Act. The statement, which spans over 10 A4 pages, mainly contains criticism of the prosecution's excessive exercise of indictment rights and asserts Lee's innocence.

As the second trial verdict date on the 26th approaches, both Lee and the prosecution are making a final all-out effort. Lee's legal team submitted 15 written opinions after the closing arguments on February 26. In the previous month and on the 11th of this month, they also filed a petition requesting the court to refer the constitutional review of the law to the Constitutional Court. Lee's side argues that the provisions of the Public Official Election Act applied by the prosecution infringe on the freedom of political expression and that the definition of the "act" of false statement publication is vague and broad, thus failing to meet the principle of clarity in expression and being unconstitutional.

The prosecution also submitted 19 written opinions during the same period, including "Prosecutor's Opinion on the Defendant's Distorted Defense Explanation." Throughout the entire appellate process, Lee's side submitted a total of 32 opinions, while the prosecution submitted more than 37. Lee consistently maintained his innocence throughout the appeal. In the final argument on the 26th of last month, Lee personally stated for about 28 minutes, "The prosecution is excessive. I never said anything believing it was false."

Lee was prosecuted for false statement publication after he stated in a broadcast interview in December 2021, when he was the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, that he did not know the late Kim Moon-gi, former Head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and claimed that there was pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regarding the change of use of the Baekhyeon-dong Korean Food Research Institute site. On November 15 of last year, the first trial court sentenced him to one year in prison with a two-year probation, and the prosecution demanded a two-year prison sentence, the same as in the first trial. If the first trial verdict is confirmed by the Supreme Court, Lee will lose his seat as a member of the National Assembly and will be barred from running for public office for the next 10 years.