SEOUL, Nov 15 — A South Korean court handed the country’s opposition leader a suspended prison sentence today for violating election laws—a ruling that may prevent him from running in the next presidential election.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, was guilty of making false statements in violation of the Public Official Election Act.
It handed him a one-year jail term, suspended for two years, a court spokesperson told AFP.
The case concerns statements Lee made on the campaign trail in 2022, when he narrowly lost to incumbent President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Supporters wept outside the court after the verdict was announced, and Lee branded it a dark day in Korean history and vowed to appeal.
“The verdict is very difficult to accept,” he said.
“I believe that our people, using common sense and a sense of justice, can come to their own conclusions,” he added.
Lee is seen as a leading contender in South Korea’s upcoming presidential election, due for early 2027, but the 60-year-old faces a slew of legal cases.
Prosecutors had asked for a two-year prison sentence, saying Lee falsely claimed in December 2021 that he did not know Kim Moon-ki, a key figure in a controversial development project.
Kim had been found dead days earlier, although police found no evidence of foul play.
Lee is also accused of lying during a parliamentary hearing in 2021 that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport “pressured” local authorities to significantly rezone land for another controversial development project.
If the verdict is upheld on appeal, South Korean law will require Lee to be stripped of his parliamentary seat and prohibited from running for public office for the next five years—which would include the 2027 presidential election.
Additionally, his party will be required to return the 43.4 billion won ($31 million) it received from the state election watchdog to fund its presidential campaign in 2022. — AFP
