Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, received a sentence of two years in prison as in the first trial for the 'violation of the Public Office Election Act' case in the appeals trial. Previously, in the first trial, Representative Lee was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation. The ruling for the appeals trial is expected to be announced as early as mid-March.
On the 26th, during the sentencing hearing of Representative Lee's violation of the Public Office Election Act at the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-2, presided over by Director General Choi Eun-jung, Lee Ye-seul, and Jeong Jae-oh, the prosecution requested the court to impose a sentence of two years in prison, the same as the first trial's recommendation, against Representative Lee.
That day, the prosecution noted that "this is a very serious matter in which Representative Lee repeatedly lied solely for the purpose of being elected president while avoiding responsibility during his time as the mayor of Seongnam at a time when national interest in his presidential campaign risk was at its peak." They further explained the reasons for sentencing, stating, "Considering that the vote margin with the leading candidate was only 0.7 percentage points, it is clear that Representative Lee's lies influenced the choices of many voters."
The prosecution said, "Representative Lee repeatedly lied multiple times to the entire nation using the National Assembly audit, which has high transmissibility through terrestrial and comprehensive broadcasting. Voters would find it hard to believe that a presidential candidate would appear on a broadcast and lie." They also stated, "After Kim Moon-ki made an extreme choice, Representative Lee did not pay respects, and the circumstantial evidence after the crime is poor. He discouraged the family of Kim Moon-ki from holding a press conference and attempted to induce false testimony from witnesses."
The prosecution added, "If the application of the Public Office Election Act varies depending on the defendant's status, political situation, loss of eligibility for election, or the political party to which they belong, the purpose of the Public Office Election Act to realize democracy through public elections would be undermined. To uphold the constitutional values of electoral fairness and democracy, strict punishment is absolutely necessary regardless of status."
Previously, Representative Lee was indicted in September 2022 for falsely claiming during the Democratic Party's presidential primary in 2021 that he did not know Kim Moon-ki, the head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, who was responsible for the Daejang-dong development, while he actually did. He also faced charges for making false statements about the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport having coerced him into raising the land use designation of the Baekhyeon-dong development site by four levels.
The prosecution also recommended a two-year prison sentence in the first trial. However, on November 15 last year, the first trial court sentenced Representative Lee to one year in prison with a two-year probation, which is a loss of congressional seat. At that time, the court acknowledged Representative Lee's statements, that he did not play golf with Kim Moon-ki, and statements related to the Baekhyeon-dong issue as publicizing false facts (guilty). However, it judged that Representative Lee's claim of not knowing Kim Moon-ki was a statement about his 'awareness' rather than a denial of 'acquaintance,' thus ruling it as not guilty. Both Representative Lee and the prosecution appealed the first trial verdict.
If Representative Lee is sentenced to more than 1 million won in fines for violating the Public Office Election Act and this is upheld by the Supreme Court, he will lose his congressional seat. Moreover, if a suspended prison sentence is confirmed before the next presidential election, he will be deprived of his eligibility for election for ten years and will not be able to run in the next presidential election. The Democratic Party must also return the approximately 43.4 billion won it received for election expenses in the last presidential election to the National Election Commission.