The appeal court’s decision on Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who received a suspended prison sentence in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act, is expected today. The outcome of this decision could significantly impact his political career. According to the legal community on the 26th, the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 6-2 will announce the appeal verdict at 2 p.m. Lee, who ran for the 20th presidential election, was charged for claiming not to know Kim Moon-gi, a director at Seongnam Urban Development, in December 2021. He also falsely claimed during a national audit that the change of land use designation for the Korea Food Research Institute’s site in Baekhyeon-dong was due to threats from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The key issue in the appeal is whether Lee’s statements were false and intentional, similar to the first trial. The first trial judge had found Lee’s remark about not playing golf with Kim Moon-gi to be false and intentional, considering the memorable nature of playing golf overseas with Kim. The court also deemed his statements about the land use change as false, stating it was done of Lee’s own volition and not due to ministry pressure.
The prosecution has sought to overturn the parts of the initial verdict that acquitted Lee by amending the indictment. They categorized the charges, pointing out specific false statements. In response, Lee has argued that he never intended to make false statements, emphasizing the difficulty politicians face in their expressions if their words are misinterpreted.
In the first trial, Lee was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation, a sentence that nullifies his election if upheld by the Supreme Court, resulting in the loss of his National Assembly seat and disqualification from running for office for ten years. Given the Supreme Court’s focus on legal interpretation rather than facts, it may be challenging to overturn an appeal court’s ruling of election nullification. If the appeal results in a similar sentence or a fine over 100,000 won, Lee would face significant legal risks throughout the early presidential race. Conversely, if the original ruling is overturned or a minimal fine is imposed, Lee’s position as a leading presidential candidate could be strengthened.