Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and his wife Kim Hye-kyung are scheduled to receive three first-instance verdicts this month.
According to legal sources today (12th), the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Panel Division 34, presided over by Judge Han Sung-jin, will deliver the first-instance ruling on the violation of the Public Official Election Act case against Leader Lee this Friday, the 15th. This will be the earliest ruling among the four trials he is currently facing.
If found guilty in the election law case and fined 1 million won or more, Lee will lose his parliamentary seat. In such a scenario, he would be unable to run for the presidential election in 2027 due to the loss of candidacy eligibility for five years.
Should a conviction leading to forfeiture of office be finalized, the Democratic Party would also have to return 43.4 billion won in reimbursed election costs per election law regulations.
There is significant public interest in whether the sentencing hearing will be broadcast live. The live broadcasting of lower court (first and second-instance) trials became possible after the Supreme Court revised the related rules in 2017.
Even if the defendant does not consent, the trial can be broadcast live if deemed to be “for the public interest” at the discretion of the court.
Ten days after the election law ruling, on the 25th, the verdict for the perjury inducement case is scheduled. If confirmed guilty with a prison sentence (including a suspended sentence), Lee would lose his parliamentary seat and be ineligible for the next presidential election.
The first-instance verdict for Lee’s spouse, Kim Hye-kyung, in her Public Official Election Act violation case, is set for the 14th. Kim was prosecuted on February 14th this year for allegedly offering meals worth 104,000 won to three spouses of current and former Democratic Party lawmakers, as well as her driver and an aide, at a restaurant in Seoul on August 2, 2021, after Lee announced his candidacy for the party’s presidential primary, an act considered a donation.