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President Lee Jae-myung presides over a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on June 10. / Source: Presidential Office

The Daejang-dong trial against President Lee Jae-myung has been indefinitely postponed, following a similar delay in his public election law violation retrial. The decision comes just one day after the Seoul High Court ruled that presidential immunity applies not only to new criminal proceedings but also to ongoing trials.

As a result, only two cases remain pending against President Lee: the North Korea remittance case and the alleged misuse of corporate credit cards — both of which are in pretrial stages that do not require his attendance.

On June 10, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 33, led by Judge Lee Jin-kwan, postponed the Daejang-dong breach of trust trial scheduled for June 24, noting it would be “rescheduled at a later date.” The court cited Article 84 of the Constitution, which states that a sitting president “shall not be subject to criminal prosecution unless for insurrection or treason.”

However, the trial for Jeong Jin-sang, former chief policy aide to the Democratic Party, who was indicted alongside Lee, will proceed as scheduled on July 15.

The president is accused of causing 489.5 billion won ($354 million) in damages to Seongnam Development Corporation and enabling private developers to pocket 788.6 billion won in profits by structuring the Daejang-dong development project to benefit them while serving as Seongnam mayor from 2010 to 2018.

Lee also faces separate charges of providing insider information to developers in the Wirye New Town project, allowing them to reap 21.1 billion won in illicit profits, and accepting 13.3 billion won in bribes in the form of corporate sponsorships to Seongnam FC.

The Daejang-dong case began its first pretrial hearing on May 11, 2023, and has remained in the first-instance court for over two years. If the proceedings are suspended until the end of Lee’s term in June 2030, the case could drag on for more than seven years.