Lee Jae-myung awaits appeal decision amid speculation of harsher sentence

Mar 26, 2025, 09:40 am

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Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), attends the first trial hearing for the "Daejang-dong, Wirye, Baekhyeon-dong, and Seongnam FC cases" at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on March 25, 2025./ He responds to questions from reporters during his appearance. Lee is awaiting the verdict of the appeal trial for the violation of the Public Official Election Act, which will determine his political fate, on March 26, 2025. / Source: /Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Kim Chae-yeon

The verdict on the appeal trial for the violation of the Public Official Election Act, which will determine the political fate of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), will be announced on Wednesday. Legal experts believe it is difficult to find any special reason to overturn the first trial's ruling, which sentenced him to a disqualification level. Some even predict that the sentence could be harsher than in the first trial.

The Seoul High Court will hold the second trial sentencing hearing for Lee's charges of false information disclosure under the Public Official Election Act at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Lee is accused of making false statements during the DP’s presidential primary in 2021, claiming he did not know the late Kim Moon-gi, former head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and stating during a National Assembly audit that the rezoning of the Korea Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam, was carried out "under the coercion of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport."

Prosecutors argue that Lee lied with the intent of influencing voters' choices to secure his election.

The first trial court found Lee guilty of making false statements, including denying playing golf overseas with Kim and claiming coercion by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport regarding the rezoning of the Baekhyeon-dong site. He was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence.

Legal experts predict that the first trial's judgment is unlikely to change significantly in the appeal trial. A lawyer from Seocho-dong stated, "Under the Public Official Election Act, the crime of spreading false information rarely results in a fine, considering the sentencing guidelines. The fact that these statements were made close to the election and during a time when Lee was surrounded by suspicions regarding Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong are aggravating factors."

"There is even a possibility that the appeal court may find additional statements by Lee, which were deemed not guilty in the first trial, to be guilty. Even with just the election law violation case, Lee's political career could effectively come to an end," the lawyer said.

If Lee receives a disqualification-level sentence in the second trial, his side is expected to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court.

If the first trial's sentence is upheld by the Supreme Court, Lee will lose his parliamentary seat and be barred from running for office for the next 10 years, making it impossible for him to run in the next presidential election. The DP would also face a major setback, having to return 43.4 billion won in presidential election subsidies.

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