On the 26th, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was acquitted in the appeal trial of the election law violation case.
On that day, the Seoul High Court ruled that Lee's statements claiming he 'did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, who was a key practitioner during his time as mayor of Seongnam,' that 'he has never played golf with Kim during overseas business trips,' and that 'he changed the land use of the Baekhyeon-dong site under pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport' did not constitute the publication of false facts.
Previously, the first trial court had ruled that the statements 'I have never played golf together' and 'changed the land use of Baekhyeon-dong under pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport' constituted the publication of false facts and sentenced Lee to one year in prison, with a two-year suspension.
◇Seoul High Court: 'Did not know Kim Moon-ki' 'I have never played golf' are not 'publication of false facts'
The prosecution indicted Lee in connection with this case in September 2022. He faced charges of publishing false facts (election law violation) for appearing four times in televised debates during the last presidential election.
At that time, the prosecution argued in the indictment that Lee's statements regarding Kim Moon-ki constituted the publication of false facts, including the claim that 'he did not know Kim during his time as mayor of Seongnam and got to know him later after becoming Governor of Gyeonggi' and that 'he did not play golf with Kim during overseas business trips.'
The first trial court found that Lee's statement 'I did not know Kim during my time as mayor of Seongnam' could not be punished as the publication of false facts. The reason was that under election law, the publication of false facts targets actions, and stating whether one knows or does not know someone does not qualify as an action.
In contrast, the first trial court ruled that the statement 'I did not play golf with Kim' should be punished as the publication of false facts, as it saw Lee's claim about playing golf with Kim during an overseas trip as a deliberate lie.
However, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-2 (Presiding Judge Choi Eun-jung, Lee Ye-seul, Jeong Jae-o) ruled in the appeal verdict that neither the statement 'I did not know Kim during my time as mayor of Seongnam' nor the statement 'I did not play golf with Kim' could be punished as the publication of false facts.
The court stated that regarding the statement 'I did not know Kim during my time as mayor of Seongnam,' it could not be considered a statement or action about conduct that would justify punishment for the publication of false facts. This aligns with the first trial's judgment.
The court also ruled that the statement 'I did not play golf with Kim' could not be seen as the publication of false facts. Regarding Lee's statement that 'the People Power Party released a manipulated photo to make it seem like I (played golf with Kim Moon-ki),' the court determined that 'this statement implies he does not remember Kim Moon-ki. Even with the broadest interpretation, there is no basis to conclude that he lied when he said he did not play golf together.'
◇Seoul High Court: 'Changed land use under pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport' is also not 'publication of false facts'
Another charge of publication of false facts against Lee involves statements related to the Baekhyeon-dong development. The development occurred during Lee's tenure as mayor of Seongnam, and there are allegations that he favored private developers by adjusting the land use up by four stages.
In this context, during the 2021 Gyeonggi Province National Assembly inspection, Democratic Party lawmaker Moon Jin-seok asked, 'Who requested the land use change regarding the Baekhyeon-dong site?' Lee responded, 'It was requested by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and we had no choice but to comply according to the special law on the transfer of public institutions.'
In response, the prosecution argued that Lee promoted the land use change decision and falsely stated it was done under pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
However, the Seoul High Court ruled in the appeal judgment that the statement does not constitute 'publication of false facts.' The court acknowledged that 'Seongnam City was under pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for an extended period concerning land use changes' and stated, 'Although the statement could be seen as an exaggeration of considerable pressure, it cannot be regarded as false.' It further noted, 'Looking at the original text of the statement, there was no direct mention of receiving threats from the Ministry regarding dereliction of duty related to the land use change.'
Earlier, the first trial court had judged that 'there was no pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Lee himself made the decision for the land use change during his time as mayor of Seongnam,' determining it constituted the publication of false facts.