The Democratic Party is focusing its efforts on public opinion ahead of the ruling on the appeal of Representative Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act. Previously, the first trial court's sentence of one year in prison and two years of probation was seen as a result of the prosecution's 'fabricated charges,' claiming it was a political ruling aimed at 'removing a prominent presidential candidate.'
The Democratic Party's Commission for Realization of Judicial Justice and Countermeasures against Prosecutorial Dictatorship (hereafter referred to as the Council) stated at a press conference at the National Assembly on the 25th, 'The prosecution made a false charge against Representative Lee Jae-myung and forced a prosecution,' adding, 'The attempt to punish memories is difficult to accept legally and commonsensically.' They further noted, 'The representative only mentioned photo manipulation, but never claimed to have not played golf with Mr. Kim Moon-ki,' stating, 'The prosecution distorted his words by saying he claimed to have not played golf together.'
Previously, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 34 (Chief Judge Han Seong-jin) sentenced Representative Lee to one year in prison and two years of probation during the first trial held in November of last year, stating he had ▲ publicized false facts during the presidential election process, obstructing voters' correct choice and ▲ thus distorting and damaging public opinion.
The first trial court found that, during the National Assembly's inspection of the Gyeonggi Province in October 2021, Representative Lee made a false claim that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport coerced him into changing the land use of the site for the Korea Food Research Institute located in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam.
The court also ruled that Representative Lee's statement on television in December of the same year, asserting he never played golf with the late Mr. Kim Moon-ki, who was a practitioner of the Daejang-dong development project, during an overseas business trip in 2015, constituted publicizing false facts. It concluded that playing golf with Kim Moon-ki and Yoo Dong-kyu during the overseas trip was a sufficiently memorable act.
In contrast, the Council argued that Representative Lee merely mentioned a 'manipulated' photo by People Power Party member Park Soo-young in 2021 and never claimed he did not play golf with Mr. Kim, and that the court ruled against him for making statements unrelated to the Baekhyeon-dong project during the National Assembly inspection.
Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the Council stated, 'The change in land use for the Baekhyeon-dong site was carried out at the strong request of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport during the Park Geun-hye administration, and it is clear from the related documents that Representative Lee Jae-myung's remarks were not false,' asserting that 'thus, it does not fall under the crime of publicizing false facts in the Public Official Election Act.'
After the press conference, the former lawmaker remarked to reporters, 'The prosecution's charge itself is too unfair,' and expressed concerns that 'there is a worry that the president, who was elected from among the ranks of prosecutors, is using the prosecutorial power to eliminate his rival by means of an unfair charge.'
During the planned protest outside the Democratic Party that afternoon, claims of 'not guilty' are also expected to be reiterated. Inside and outside the party, concerns that the late ruling on the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol will become a bad factor for an early presidential election seem to be prevalent. It is anticipated that calls for an 'expedited final ruling' will intensify around the ruling party in the future.