Prosecutors chase three-year sentence for DP's Lee in subornation case

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Prosecutors chase three-year sentence for DP's Lee in subornation case

Published: 30 Sep. 2024, 18:44 Updated: 30 Sep. 2024, 19:19

MICHAEL LEE
lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Monday. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors on Monday demanded a three-year prison term for Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung on the charge of coercing a former mayoral secretary to commit perjury in 2018.

Three years is the maximum sentence under the current law.

The DP leader was indicted last year on charges of demanding a secretary of former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony in a 2018 election law violation case involving him.

The court is expected to issue its verdict in late October at the earliest.

Appearing at the Seoul Central District Court for the trial, Lee accused the prosecution of manipulating charges and evidence against him and of attempting to throttle the opposition party.

“Prosecutors wielding court warrants are turning the country into a dictatorship, decades after the military regimes have gone,” Lee said, surrounded by senior DP officials who came to the court in support of him.

The case involves Lee’s conviction in 2004 for illegally impersonating a prosecutor in collusion with a TV news producer, who was gathering information on-then Seongnam Mayor Kim in connection with a preferential apartment distribution scandal. Lee was fined 1.5 million won ($1,140) in the case.

During a 2018 television debate while running for Gyeonggi governor, he claimed the case was based on false accusations. He was later charged with making false statements during the election but was finally acquitted in 2020.

Last year, prosecutors charged Lee with urging a secretary of the former Seongnam mayor over the phone to testify in his favor during the ongoing court trial in December 2018. Prosecutors suspect the secretary’s subsequent testimony in accordance with Lee’s request led to his acquittal by the Supreme Court.

Lee has denied the charges and accused prosecutors of pursuing a false indictment against him.

However, the secretary has largely admitted to having falsely testified at Lee’s request while under trial for perjury.

If Lee is handed a prison term, he would be barred from running for public office while the sentence is in effect.

The case is one of four trials Lee is currently facing in connection with various charges, including bribery and another election falsehood related to a high-profile property development corruption scandal.

Earlier this month, prosecutors demanded a two-year prison term for Lee in an election falsehood case. If he is found guilty and sentenced to prison, he would be stripped of his parliamentary seat and suspended from running for public office for the next five years.

Sentencing in that case is scheduled for Nov. 15.

Yonhap

BY MICHAEL LEE,YONHAP [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]