South Korea’s main opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, has been convicted on charges of violating the country’s election law and handed a one-year suspended prison sentence.
The Seoul Central District Court on Friday found the leader of the Democratic Party (DP) guilty of making false statements before the 2022 presidential election in violation of the Public Official Election Act.
If upheld, the ruling will strip Lee of his parliamentary seat and bar him from running in the next presidential election in 2027, as the law prohibits him from running for public office for the next five years.
Lee said after the hearing that he would appeal the court’s decision.
“I will be appealing. Beginning with the basic facts, it is a conclusion that is difficult to accept,” he told reporters.
“There are still two more courts left in the real world, and the courts of public opinion and history are eternal,” he said, apparently referring to plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.
Lee’s supporters and critics occupied separate streets near the court, shouting opposing slogans and holding signs that said “Lee Jae-myung is innocent” and “Arrest Lee Jae-myung”.
Lee, who narrowly lost to President Yoon Suk-yeol in the 2022 election, faces at least four trials after being indicted on several criminal charges including bribery and corruption. Yoon is also facing a string of controversies, including allegations of influence-peddling alongside his wife.
In the ruling on Friday, the court found that Lee breached election law by making false statements as a presidential candidate in 2021 that he was not acquainted with a city official who was in charge of a development project.
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