Home > National > Politics

DP's Lee not out of the legal woods yet with top court set to deliver verdict Thursday

Published: 30 Apr. 2025, 10:38

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after attending a trial on corruption charges on April 29. [YONHAP]

While Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung secured a decisive victory in his party's primary, a legal cloud continues to loom over his campaign as the Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver a final verdict Thursday in an election law violation case against him.

The top court announced Tuesday that it will issue its ruling at 3 p.m. Thursday, which comes just 34 days after receiving the case and only nine days after it was returned to the full bench, signaling an unusually swift timeline.

The expedited ruling comes roughly a month before the early presidential election scheduled for June 3. Observers believe the court is aiming to minimize judicial interference in politics by resolving legal uncertainties surrounding Lee, who currently faces five criminal trials, before the official candidate registration period, set for May 10 to 11.

Lee faces charges under the Public Official Election Act for allegedly making false statements during the 2022 presidential campaign. In a December 2021 interview, he claimed he did not know Kim Moon-ki, a senior official at a publicly owned company involved in the controversial Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam — where Lee served as mayor from 2010 to 2018.

Kim was found dead later that month while under investigation for his role in the scandal, which centered on small private firms reaping massive profits from minimal investments in the project.

Lee also faces allegations of making false claims during a state audit in October 2021 while serving as Gyeonggi governor. He stated that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had pressured him to rezone the former site of the Korea Food Research Institute in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam. The land was later developed into apartment complexes by a private firm, prompting accusations that Lee had granted preferential treatment to developers.

The former DP chief was initially handed a suspended one-year prison sentence by a district court, but the Seoul High Court overturned the ruling in March and acquitted him.

Under Korean law, a lawmaker who is convicted and sentenced — even with a suspended sentence — is disqualified from holding office. If the Supreme Court finalizes a sentence involving prison time, he will be barred from running in the June 3 election and from holding public office for 10 years. If he receives a fine of over 1 million won ($710), he will be disqualified from holding office for the next five years.

Following Tuesday’s announcement of the Supreme Court's verdict date, Lee told reporters outside the Seoul Central District Court, where he attended a hearing on separate corruption and bribery charges, that the upcoming trial “would proceed according to the law.”

People Power Party presidential candidates Kim Moon-soo, left, and Han Dong-hoon clap after the party announces the two finalists for its primary at party headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 29. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

On the same day, the People Power Party (PPP) narrowed its candidate list to two finalists — Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon.

If cleared by the Supreme Court, Lee will likely face one of the two conservative contenders, or acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who reportedly could make a bid as early as this week.

Kim, a former labor minister who resigned on April 8 to join the race, is a veteran conservative politician with roots in the labor movement. He previously served three terms as a lawmaker and was twice elected Gyeonggi governor. This marks his third presidential bid, following campaigns in 2012 and 2017, where he lost to Park Geun-hye and Hong Joon-pyo in the party primaries.

A staunch conservative, Kim has voiced strong opposition to Lee. In a KBS radio interview on Tuesday, he said conservatives should “hold hands with anyone except people like [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un to resist” the DP presidential candidate.

Han Dong-hoon, a former justice minister under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and one-time PPP leader, is a former prosecutor known for leading major investigations alongside Yoon, including probes into the family of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who is currently serving a two-year prison sentence. Unlike Kim, Han supported Yoon's impeachment.

After the two-way primary was confirmed Tuesday, Han described Kim as a “companion, not a competitor,” and pledged to work together to defeat Lee.

The PPP’s final presidential candidate will be determined Saturday based on a combination of party member votes, 50 percent, and a public opinion survey, 50 percent.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]