The Supreme Court of Korea announced Tuesday that it will deliver its verdict on Lee Jae-myung’s election law violation case Thursday at 3 p.m.
The Democratic Party of Korea presidential contender's ruling is set to come 10 days before the official presidential candidate registration deadline on May 11, which is earlier than many had anticipated.
Lee’s case, which was initially assigned to a panel of four justices, was referred to the grand bench on April 22. Chief Justice Jo Hee-de had decided to hear the case in a full court session after considering the high level of public interest and national concern.
If the Supreme Court overturns the lower court’s acquittal, Lee could lose both his parliamentary seat and his eligibility to run for public office for a decade. Under Article 19 of the Public Official Election Act, anyone convicted of violating election laws who receives a fine exceeding 1 million won ($700) is barred from running for office for 10 years.
Though the Seoul Central District Court handed down a one-year prison term in November 2024, the Seoul High Court acquitted the liberal presidential front-runner on March 26.
The prosecution filed the appeal against the Seoul High Court ruling in early April.
If the court dismisses the prosecution's appeal, Lee will be cleared of charges.
While the ruling People Power Party reportedly welcomed the top court’s swift decision, urging a fair judgement that reflects the public’s standard, Lee said, “I’m sure it (the Supreme Court) will follow the law” as he left the Seoul Central District Court after attending a separate criminal trial on charge of corruption charges related to allegations during his tenure as Seongnam’s mayor.
Lee was indicted for making false statements during an election by denying his personal ties with the late Kim Moon-ki, former head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Development Corp., during a televised interview as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in December 2021.
Kim was accused of involvement in a land corruption scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, when Lee was the city's mayor.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
