The People Power Party noted on the 26th that they could not accept the second trial ruling on the election law violation case of Representative Lee Jae-myung. They stated that the reversal of both issues, which were deemed 'guilty' in the first trial, to 'not guilty' suggests a legal misunderstanding reflecting the political bias of the judges. They also predicted, "It will be overturned by the Supreme Court."

Shin Dong-wook, the chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, said during a briefing after the sentencing of Representative Lee for the election law violation, "The ruling in this appeals court is very elaborate, and it's hard for us to accept it." He added, "It is a matter of whether to accept the judgment or not, but the ruling has a very difficult-to-accept logical structure for determining not guilty." Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader, also stated, "The personal inclination of the judge must have suppressed professional conscience and been reflected in the judgment."

Kweon Yong-se, chairman of the emergency response committee of the People Power Party, and Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader, visit the 'Joint Memorial Altar for the Victims of the Sancheong Wildfire Accident' set up at the Changnyeong County Sports Center in Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam, after paying their respects on the afternoon of Oct. 24. /Courtesy of News1
Kweon Yong-se, chairman of the emergency response committee of the People Power Party, and Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader, visit the 'Joint Memorial Altar for the Victims of the Sancheong Wildfire Accident' set up at the Changnyeong County Sports Center in Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam, after paying their respects on the afternoon of Oct. 24. /Courtesy of News1

◇"Statements about 'the golf photo was manipulated' must be interpreted from the voters' perspective."

The People Power Party pointed out that both Lee's 'golf statements' and 'Baekhyeon-dong statements', which were found guilty in the first trial, were overturned to 'not guilty' because the appeals court found that they could not be seen as 'dissemination of false facts'. Specifically, they noted that the charges of disseminating false facts were: ▲ the accusation that the representative falsely claimed he had never played golf with the late Kim Moon-ki, who was an implementer of the Daejang-dong development project during his term as Seongnam mayor; ▲ the allegation made during a National Assembly audit of Gyeonggi Province that he had changed the use of the site for the Korea Food Research Institute in Baekhyeon-dong due to threats from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

First, the People Power Party pointed out that the appeals court in the second trial (Seoul High Court Criminal Division No. 6-2) interpreted Lee's statement that it was 'manipulated' as meaning 'the photo was enlarged', which did not consider the perception of the general public receiving the statement.

Previously, in December 2021, while he was a presidential candidate, Lee appeared on a broadcast and stated, "The People Power Party took photos of four people and released them as if I played golf. Upon checking, I found that they had shown a part of our group's photo. It was manipulated." Lee's side has argued that the 'manipulated' statement emphasized that the People Power Party had enlarged part of the photo. In response, the first trial court had ruled that the statement 'manipulated' meant that 'he did not play golf with Kim during the overseas trip period.'

However, the second trial court judged that the photos taken of Lee during a trip to Australia with former Minister Kim could not substantiate the claim that they played golf together, stating, "The photo taken of 10 people together does not support that fact."

On the other hand, the party's legal committee chair, Representative Joo Jin-woo, released a statement on Facebook, saying, "The election law must be interpreted from the voters' perspective rather than that of the candidate. If someone sees the photo presented as evidence that Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-ki played golf as 'manipulated', the general public perceives it as if they did not play golf. The distinction between 'the photo was manipulated' and 'part of the photo was enlarged' is entirely different in meaning. Candidates have a duty to differentiate the meanings when presenting them to the public."

Members of the ruling party who are 'legal professionals' also held an emergency press conference that day, asserting, "They have concocted absurd legal reasoning." Representative Jeong Jeong-sik remarked, "Isn't it the case that the public will think they did not play golf after seeing that phrase (the photo was manipulated)?" He added, "The most important factor in cases of dissemination of false information is how the general public perceives it should be the basis for judgment."

Joo Jin-woo, the legal advisor chairman of the People Power Party, along with the commissioners of the special committee for the national investigation into the allegations, hold a press conference on the complaints against President Yoon Suk-yeol for illegal arrest and detention at the National Assembly communication hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of Oct. 10. /Courtesy of News1

◇"Judgment on 'falsehood of Baekhyeon-dong threats' as 'opinion expression'... Denying the Supreme Court ruling."

Regarding Lee's Baekhyeon-dong statement, the People Power Party pointed out that the court's determination of it as 'opinion expression' is a "strange legal principle." Lee stated during the National Assembly audit of Gyeonggi Province in October 2021, "(The change of use) was done at the request of the Ministry of Land, and we had no choice but to comply under the Special Act on the Transfer of Public Institutions," adding, "The Ministry of Land threatened that it would raise the issue of dereliction of duty in Gyeonggi Province."

In response, the second trial court stated, "Overall, it falls under opinion expression," and deemed that while the statement regarding 'threat' could be an exaggerated expression of significant pressure, it is difficult to see it as false.

Conversely, the People Power Party firmly rebutted. Representative Joo said, "How can it be merely opinion expression that Lee Jae-myung said he had to respond because the Ministry of Land threatened him, rather than that he independently made the decision as the mayor of Seongnam?" He referred to it as "a clear misunderstanding of legal principles."

Representative Jeong also commented, "Isn't it the case that the testimony of officials related to the Ministry of Land is judged internally by Seongnam City to have elevated the change of use of the Baekhyeon-dong site by four stages?"

Representative Jeong particularly referenced the point that lobbyist Kim In-seob received a five-year prison sentence, asserting, "The Supreme Court had clearly confirmed the lobbying in Seongnam City, and dismissing that while judging it as being done under threats rather than lobbying is essentially the same." Kim was accused of receiving about 7 billion won from the developer in exchange for facilitating the Baekhyeon-dong project, which the Supreme Court acknowledged as guilty. It was seen that the use of the site for the Baekhyeon-dong project was changed as a result of lobbying.