A higher-than-expected sentence... "false facts about important matters."

[Anchor]
Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, was sentenced to a suspended sentence of imprisonment beyond the fine, which is the standard for invalidating the election.

The court explained that the sentence is heavier than expected, but the public opinion was distorted by the public announcement of false facts about "core suspicions."

Reporter Shin Ji-won reports.

[Reporter]
Prior to Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, being sentenced to violating the Public Official Election Act, the prospects for guilt or innocence were mixed.

Many predicted that even if convicted, the fine would be around 1 million won, which is the standard for invalidating the election,
In reality,
was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation.

Considering that the prosecution previously demanded a two-year prison term equivalent to the maximum sentence under the Supreme Court sentencing regulations, it is not a light sentence.

Above all, the court emphasized that public opinion can be distorted, such as the public announcement of false information by the electorate.

In particular, in the face of the presidential election, when Lee's suspicion of development corruption in Daejang-dong was a public concern, false information was announced in the name of 'explaining the suspicion',
It was pointed out that the impact and propagation power were great by using
broadcasting as a medium.

He also pointed out that the crime is important to the candidate's ability and quality, and that the degree of guilt and crime is quite heavy.

The fact that CEO Lee had a similar criminal record also worked against him.

During the local elections in June 2010, CEO Lee distributed business cards on the grounds of subway stations where campaigning was prohibited and was fined 500,000 won for violating the Public Official Election Act.

I'm Shin Jiwon of YTN.


Video editing: Yun Yong-jun

Design: Lee Na-young