South Korea’s main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was given a one-year suspended sentence for violating election laws.
The Seoul Central District Court found Lee, the leader of the Democratic Party, guilty of making false statements before the 2022 presidential election. According to the prosecution, he violated the Public Official Election Act.
Lee could lose his parliamentary seat and would not be able to run in the next presidential election in 2027, as the law barred him from running for public office for the next five years. However, Lee said after the hearing that he would appeal the court’s decision.
I will be appealing. Beginning with the basic facts, it is a conclusion that is difficult to accept. There are still two more courts left in the real world, and the courts of public opinion and history are eternal.
Lee, who lost by a narrow margin to President Yoon Suk-yeol in the 2022 election, is facing at least four lawsuits. Yoon also faces a number of controversies, including accusations of abusing influence with his wife.
In its judgement handed down on Friday, the court found that Lee violated the election law by making false statements as a presidential candidate in 2021 that he was not familiar with the city official in charge of the development project. Lee was also accused of making a false statement during a parliamentary inspection in 2021 about a land development project in Seongnam, where he served as mayor from 2010 to 2018.
He faces another hearing on perjury charges at the end of November. However, his party accuses prosecutors that the case against him is politically motivated.
