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| ▲ Lee Jae-myung, chair of the main opposition Democratic Party, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital, in this photo taken Nov. 8, 2024. (Yonhap) |
opposition leader-courts
Opposition leader faces crucial court rulings in coming 2 weeks
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's judicial risk is set to hit a watershed in the next two weeks, as a local court will hand down its decisions on two of his four pending criminal cases, political watchers said Tuesday.
Depending on the outcome of the court rulings slated for Friday and Nov. 25, the political life of the chair of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) could be endangered, the watchers said.
On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court will make its judgment on his charges of violating the election law by making false statements during the previous presidential election campaign.
Lee was indicted in September 2022 on charges of lying during the presidential campaign about a high-profile land development project pursued by the Seongnam city government, south of Seoul, during his term as mayor. During the previous hearing, prosecutors demanded a two-year prison sentence for him.
If given a finalized sentence of a 1 million-won (about US$715) fine or more for violating the Public Official Election Act, Lee loses his parliamentary seat and will be barred from running for the next presidential election slated for 2027. In that case, the DP will also have to return about 43.4 billion won received from the state coffers as presidential election expenses.
In consideration of the importance of the case, lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and others have asked the court to allow a live broadcast of Lee's sentencing trial, but the final decision has not been made yet.
On Nov. 25, the same court will rule on Lee's indictment on charges of suborning a former Seongnam mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor in 2018.
Lee was indicted last year for demanding a secretary of former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony in a 2018 election law violation case involving him. Prosecutors demanded a three-year prison term for him in the previous hearing.
The case is also expected to affect Lee's political life, as he will lose his National Assembly seat and be barred from running for public office for the next five years, if a sentence heavier than imprisonment without forced labor, including a suspended one, is finalized.
Besides the two cases, Lee is now standing trial in connection with alleged bribery and other charges related to a high-profile property development corruption scandal in Seongnam and an illegal cash transfer of $8 million to North Korea by Ssangbangwool Group between 2019 and 2020.
Lee's wife, Kim Hye-kyung, is also awaiting an important ruling from a court this week.
On Thursday, the Suwon District Court in Suwon, south of Seoul, will hand down its verdict for Kim, indicted on charges of providing free meals to several people ahead of the 2021 party convention to pick the DP's presidential candidate.
She was indicted for providing meals worth 104,000 won to the wives of three former and current party lawmakers, and three of her aides at a restaurant in Seoul in August 2021, shortly after Lee declared his bid for the election to pick the party's candidate for the 2022 presidential race. Prosecutors demanded a fine of 3 million won for Kim in her previous hearing.
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