Seoul, South Korea – Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party, has been acquitted of violating the Public Official Election Act in a second trial, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.
The Seoul High Court overturned the initial ruling, which had sentenced Lee to one year in prison, suspended for two years. The case centered around allegations that Lee disseminated false information during his tenure as Governor of Gyeonggi Province and later as a presidential candidate.
Specifically, the accusations stemmed from a parliamentary audit in October 2021, where Lee allegedly made false statements regarding land in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam City, linked to the Korea Food Research Institute and suspected of illegal land-use changes. Furthermore, he was accused of falsely claiming during a media interview in December of the same year, while campaigning as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, that he did not know a deceased subordinate, Kim, who was implicated in the Daejang-dong development scandal during his time as Mayor of Seongnam.
The appellate court determined that Lee’s statements did not constitute the dissemination of false information, leading to the reversal of the initial guilty verdict.
This ruling marks a significant development in the ongoing legal challenges faced by Lee Jae-myung and is likely to have considerable political ramifications in South Korea.
References:
- Yonhap News Agency. (2024, March 26). 简讯：李在明涉违反选举法案二审改判无罪 [Briefing: Lee Jae-myung Acquitted in Election Law Violation Case in Second Trial]. Retrieved from http://cn.yna.co.kr/view/ACR20240326013800000
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