National Court Administration on Lee's Case Remand: "Supreme Court Decision Must Be Respected... Tight Timeline for Final Ruling Before Election"

Emergency Inquiry at National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee
Bae Hyungwon: "It is rare to find a case where a ruling is delivered within nine days"

Bae Hyungwon, Deputy Chief of the National Court Administration, stated on May 2 regarding the Supreme Court's remand of the Public Official Election Act case involving Lee Jaemyung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, "The decision of the highest court must be respected institutionally." Regarding the possibility of a final conclusion in Lee's case before the presidential election, he said, "The timeline is tight."

Yonhap News

Deputy Chief Bae attended an emergency inquiry by the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee that morning, saying, "Both the majority and minority opinions have their own significance and should be respected." He added, "The Supreme Court on May 1 overturned the lower court's acquittal of Lee, who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court."

Deputy Chief Bae said, "Evaluations of the ruling may differ," and added, "While there may be various opinions about the ruling, the decision of the highest court must be respected." He further commented on the potential impact of the Supreme Court's decision on the election, saying, "It may serve as a reference for voters in making their decision."

Regarding the possibility of a final and conclusive ruling in Lee's case before the presidential election, Bae anticipated that it would not be physically easy. He said, "There are some physical difficulties, but it is hard to say definitively," and added, "At this point, we do not know how quickly the retrial at the remanded court will proceed, and if, hypothetically, the case is appealed again, the timeline would indeed be tight."

On the same day, the Democratic Party of Korea and other opposition parties criticized the Supreme Court for reaching a conclusion just nine days after referring the case to the full bench, calling it a "hasty review." Regarding whether it was possible to review the 60,000 pages of evidence in that period, Deputy Chief Bae said, "I believe the justices thoroughly reviewed the records and made their judgment," but also noted, "To my knowledge, it is rare for a ruling to be delivered within nine days."