Court States "Lee Now Holds Status Representing the Nation"
Seoul High Court and Central District Court Also Previously Postponed Hearings
The trial of President Lee Jae Myung on charges of misusing Gyeonggi Province corporate credit cards was postponed on July 1. This marks the third postponement, following delays last month in the retrial of his Public Official Election Act case and the Daejang-dong case.
President Lee Jae Myung is arriving at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 26th to deliver a policy speech on the supplementary budget. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
On this day, the 11th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Song Byunghoon) made this decision during the fourth pretrial hearing for the breach of duty case involving President Lee, former Gyeonggi Province Chief of Staff Jeong, and former Gyeonggi Province special appointee Bae.
The court stated, "Defendant Lee Jae Myung was elected president on June 3 and now holds the status of head of state, representing the nation." The court further explained, "This court will set a future trial date to allow Lee to focus on his constitutional duties as president and to ensure continuity in state affairs."
Designating the trial date as "to be determined" means that the court is postponing, rescheduling, or continuing the proceedings without specifying the next hearing date. The trial will not resume until the court sets a new date.
Previously, the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court, which is handling President Lee's Public Official Election Act retrial, and the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, which is overseeing the Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, Wirye development corruption cases and the Seongnam FC case, each postponed President Lee's trial schedule to be determined after the presidential election, on the 9th and 10th of last month, respectively. All these courts cited Article 84 of the Constitution as the basis for their decisions, interpreting the presidential immunity from prosecution as applying even to trials already in progress.
President Lee was indicted without detention on November 19 last year on charges of privately using a total of 106.53 million won from July 2018 to October 2021, including spending Gyeonggi Province funds such as corporate credit cards for fruit, sandwiches, and food expenses while serving as governor. Jeong, the former chief of staff to the Gyeonggi governor, and Bae, a former special appointee, were also indicted as accomplices.
Meanwhile, the 11th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court is also handling President Lee's case involving alleged illegal remittances to North Korea. The pretrial hearing for this case is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on the 22nd.
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