Appeals court acquits DP leader Lee Jae-myung over election law violation charges

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Mar 262025

이재명 공직선거법 2심 무죄 1심 판단 뒤집혀 Meanwhile on the political front. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has won an appeal over an earlier conviction of election law violation by a lower court late last year. For details our political correspondent Shin Ha-young joins me live. Ha-young welcome. Let's start with details of the verdict by the Seoul High Court. Sure, Sunny, the main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung has been acquitted by an appeals court with regard to election violation charges. The Seoul High Court today overturned a ruling by a lower court, which handed Lee a suspended prison term. Lee was indicted on charges of making false statements in December 2021, during a media interview where he denied knowing the late Kim Moon-ki, an executive involved in a development scandal in Seongnam City where Lee previously served as mayor. He is also accused of having made false claims that there was pressure from South Korea's land ministry to rezone a research institute site in the Baekhyeon-dong area. The appellate court ruled on Wednesday that neither of the statements made by Lee can be seen as spreading false information, overturning the Seoul Central District Court's ruling in November. The lower court found Lee guilty of making false statements, though it said that parts of statements regarding Kim could not be considered a violation of the election law. It handed Lee a one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years. Prosecutors demanded the Seoul High Court give a two-year prison term for Lee during the appellate trial, the same sentence as they demanded in the first trial. And what has been Lee Jae-myung 's response to this ruling? Well, right after the ruling, the opposition leader Lee Jae-myung thanked the court for delivering what he called "a proper ruling." Take a listen. "I appreciate the court for delivering a proper ruling based on truth and justice. But it's frustrating that so much effort and national resources were spent on something so obvious." Meanwhile, the ruling People Power Party expressed regret over court's ruling and said that it will wait for the Supreme Court's decision. There is much speculation that prosecutors will appeal today's verdict at the Supreme Court. Now if that happens and the Supreme Court overturns today's ruling, sentencing Lee to a fine of one million Korean won which is about 680 U.S. dollars, or more, he would lose his legislative seat and be barred from running in elections for five years. If sentenced to a prison term, the ban extends to ten years. That's all I have for this hour. Back to you, Sunny. All right Ha-young thank you for that coverage. That was our political correspondent Shin Ha-young with the latest on the opposition leader's legal battle. #LeeJaemyung #Seoul_High_Court #Democratic_Party #DP_leader #이재명 #더불어민주당대표 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : / arirangtvnews 📣 Twitter : / arirangtvnews 📣 Homepage : https://arirang.com/ 2025-03-26, 17:00 (KST)