Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, was sentenced to a suspended prison term equivalent to the loss of his parliamentary seat in the first trial, accused of publishing false information ahead of the last presidential election.
The Seoul Central District Court today (15th) sentenced Lee to one year in prison and two years of probation in the first trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.
The court judged that the part that "we didn't play golf together" was false in the remarks related to former Chief Kim Moon-ki.
However, it was considered innocent, saying that it is necessary to strictly judge whether the part that "I didn't know when I was mayor of Seongnam" is included in the publication of false information.
Nevertheless, he was found guilty by applying a single comprehensive crime.
Regarding Baekhyun-dong's remarks, he explained that it was false that he was threatened with abandonment of his duties, saying that he judged himself, not at the request of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
He then added that the intentionality is recognized because it seems that he has prepared remarks at the parliamentary audit.
If he is convicted of a fine of more than 1 million won under the Public Official Election Act and the National Assembly Act, Lee will lose his position as a member of the National Assembly.
In addition, the right to vote and run for election will be limited for five years, making it impossible to run for the next presidential election in 2027, and if there is no right to vote under the party law, the party leader will lose his membership, which could force Lee to drop his position as party leader.
In addition, if the fine of more than 1 million won is confirmed, the Democratic Party of Korea will have to return 43.4 billion won in the last presidential election, which was compensated by the National Election Commission.
CEO Lee is accused of saying in a broadcast interview ahead of the presidential election in December 2021, that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, who was a key practitioner in the Daejang-dong project, when he was mayor of Seongnam.
In addition, in October of the same year, the National Assembly was accused of making remarks to the effect that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport threatened to change the use of the Baekhyun-dong site and was forced to change its use.
Prosecutors previously demanded a two-year prison term for representative Lee at a final hearing in September.
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