The Supreme Court's en banc panel will announce its judgment on Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, regarding the violation of the Public Official Election Act at 3 p.m. on the 1st. That day, the Supreme Court is expected to issue one of three rulings: 'acquitted', 'reversed and remanded', or 'remanded'.
If acquitted, Lee will have no legal obstacles to running in the June 3 presidential election. On the other hand, if the Supreme Court affirms a fine of over 1 million won through a reversal ruling, he will not be able to run in the June 3 presidential election.
The ruling announcement from the Supreme Court's en banc panel will be broadcast live on the Supreme Court's YouTube and TV. There is no obligation for the defendant to attend the ruling announcement, and it is known that Lee will not be attending.
Previously, Lee received a sentence of one year in prison, with a two-year suspended sentence, during the first trial, which was later overturned to not guilty in the second trial.
The Supreme Court's en banc panel reaches a conclusion based on the majority opinion (seven or more) of participating Supreme Court justices, including the Chief Justice. Typically, the en banc panel consists of the Chief Justice and 12 Supreme Court justices, totaling 13. However, in this case, Supreme Court Justice Noh Tae-ak, who also serves as the chairman of the National Election Commission, recused himself, leading the panel to consist of 12 justices.
Legal circles anticipate that the en banc panel will issue one of three rulings: 'acquitted', 'reversed and remanded', or 'remanded'. If the appeal is dismissed and 'acquitted' is the outcome, it would be the most favorable result for Lee, as it means there would be no legal barriers to running in the June 3 presidential election.
Conversely, if the Supreme Court finds that the second trial's not guilty verdict was incorrect and that there are guilty aspects among the charges against Lee, it will issue a reversal decision. A reversal can occur in two ways.
If the Supreme Court conducts 'reversal and remand' and determines the sentence directly, it will be confirmed according to that ruling. Whether the fine exceeds 1 million won could determine Lee's eligibility for the June 3 presidential election. Additionally, regardless of the sentence, the very fact of being found guilty could negatively impact Lee during the presidential campaign.
In contrast, the Supreme Court could choose to not determine the sentence directly but only reverse with an implication of guilt and send the case back to the Seoul High Court for retrial, which is known as 'remand'. This could also work against Lee, given the guilty implication. However, if the remand ruling is not finalized before the June 3 presidential election, there would be no legal issues regarding his candidacy.
Meanwhile, Lee was indicted in September 2022 for publicly spreading false information after appearing four times in broadcast debates as the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate ahead of the 2021 election. The statements that prosecutors viewed as problematic include: ▲ he did not know Kim Moon-ki (former head of development at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation) during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam, ▲ he did not play golf with Kim Moon-ki, and ▲ the change in land use for the Korea Food Research Institute in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam, was due to pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Earlier, the first trial court sentenced Lee to one year in prison, with a two-year suspended sentence, in November of last year. The court deemed his statements that he did not know Kim Moon-ki and that he altered the land use in Baekhyeon-dong due to pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to be intentional dissemination of false information.
However, the appellate court declared Lee not guilty on the 26th of last month. The statements made by the former representative were considered expressions of 'awareness' about certain actions, thus not subject to penalties under the Public Official Election Act.