South Korean Court Overturns Suspended Sentence for Opposition Leader Lee Jae Myung

South Korean Court Overturns Suspended Prison Sentence for Lee Jae Myung

A South Korean court on Wednesday overturned a one-year suspended prison term given to main opposition party leader Lee Jae Myung for violating the election law. Lee was accused of making false statements in 2021 when he was running for president.

The Seoul High Court ruling comes as Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon Suk Yeol, is expected to be the Democratic Party's candidate again if the Constitutional Court decides to remove Yoon from office.

The Seoul Central District Court had found Lee guilty of lying about a corruption-ridden project in a media interview in December 2021. If upheld, he would have been stripped of his parliamentary seat and barred from running in elections for 10 years.

However, the high court ruled that Lee's denial of knowing a former executive of Seongnam Development Corp., which was behind the project in Seongnam, cannot be seen as false. Lee was the mayor of the city located south of Seoul from 2010 to 2018.

The court also said that it cannot say the party leader made untruthful statements during a parliamentary audit over the rezoning of the former site of a government-funded institute in Seongnam.

Following the ruling, Lee said the court made the "right decision based on truth and justice." He also expressed hope that the prosecution would reflect on its actions and refrain from wasting the nation's resources.

According to a recent Gallup Korea public opinion survey, Lee is the top choice for president, with 36 percent support. The Constitutional Court ruling on whether to approve parliament's impeachment of Yoon or reinstate him as president is expected later this month or in April.