A South Korean appeals court yesterday reversed a lower court’s ruling and found main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung not guilty of contravening election laws, removing a barrier that could have blocked him from running for president.
Following the ruling, Lee said the decision by the Seoul High Court completely vindicated him and proved the case was politically motivated.
“It is truly outrageous that all this energy and national resources were spent for what is an obvious outcome,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Lee was handed a one-year prison term suspended for two years by the Seoul Central District Court last year, a penalty that if it had been upheld would have jeopardized his bid to run in the next presidential election.
The appeals court reversed the earlier ruling that had found Lee guilty of making a false claim during a parliamentary audit in 2021 while running as a presidential candidate about a land development project in Seongnam, where he served as mayor.
The court cases have shone a spotlight on Lee since opinion polls show he is the front-runner to replace South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol if the embattled leader’s impeachment is upheld.
The nation is to hold a snap election within 60 days if the South Korean Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment of Yoon over his short-lived declaration of martial law in December last year.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party is regarded as by far the top contender for the next presidential election, but faces legal challenges.
It was unclear if the prosecution would decide to appeal yesterday’s decision at the South Korean Supreme Court.
In addition to the election law case, Lee also faces several other trials on matters ranging from alleged bribery to charges mostly linked to a US$1 billion property development scandal.
In South Korea, if lawmakers are convicted of breaches of election laws and fined more than 1 million won (US$683), or even a suspended sentence and the conviction becomes finalized, they are barred from running for elections for at least five years and stripped of their parliament seat.
Lee, 61, ran against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election and lost by the slimmest margin in history.
Last year, he survived a knife attack when he was stabbed in the neck by a man during an event and underwent surgery.
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