DP's Lee argues election law is unconstitutional during appeal hearing
Published: 05 Feb. 2025, 18:15
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, center, arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, for the second hearing of his appeal against his conviction for violating election law on Feb. 5. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/05/aace1e6c-fc82-420a-9337-cae020cdfe6b.jpg)
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, center, arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, for the second hearing of his appeal against his conviction for violating election law on Feb. 5. [YONHAP]
Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung called for a constitutional review of the Public Official Election Act during the second hearing of his appeal against his conviction for alleged violations of the law on Wednesday.
Lee has argued that Article 250 of the Public Official Election Act, which punishes individuals who spread falsehoods that benefit a candidate with up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won ($20,750), should be invalidated for “restricting freedom of speech and setting unclear standards” for what constitutes a lie on the campaign trail.
Lee, who is a frontrunner in the next presidential election, has been accused of making false statements regarding development projects in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, during a state audit in October 2021, after he won the DP’s presidential nomination.
Lee served as mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018 and governor of Gyeonggi from 2018 to 2021.
During the audit, Lee alleged that the Land Ministry had pressured him while he was Seongnam mayor to rezone the former site of the Korea Food Research Institute, located in the city’s Baekhyeon-dong area, which was subsequently developed into apartment complexes by a private firm.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled in November that this statement was a lie intended to bolster his candidacy in the 2022 presidential election and handed him a one-year suspended prison sentence.
If the sentence is upheld by the Supreme Court, Lee would automatically lose his seat in the National Assembly and the right to stand in elections for five years.
Although Lee on Wednesday also requested that the Seoul High Court admit 13 new witnesses to support his appeal, the court agreed to hear testimony from only three.
Lee’s critics inside the People Power Party and the state prosecution service have argued the DP leader’s petition for a constitutional review of the election law and his application to present an influx of witnesses during his appeal is intended to delay the final outcome of his trial.
The Seoul High Court is expected to issue its ruling on Lee’s appeal on Feb. 26 and decide whether to uphold or reduce the lower court’s sentence by early March.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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