DP chief in hot seat ahead of court's ruling in election law violation case

The trial court’s decision is likely to upend domestic politics regardless of whether it finds the DP leader guilty of violating the Public Official Election Act by lying on television during his last presidential election campaign.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung listens to the debate over a special counsel probe bill being pushed by his party in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS1]

The Seoul Central District Court is set to issue a ruling regarding the election law violation case against liberal Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday.

The trial court’s decision is likely to upend domestic politics regardless of whether it finds the DP leader guilty of violating the Public Official Election Act by lying on television during his last presidential election campaign.

During an interview broadcast in December 2021, Lee said he did not know Kim Moon-ki, a senior official at a publicly owned company in charge of a development project in Daejang-dong, Seongnam, where he served as mayor from 2010 to 2018.

Kim was found dead in December 2021 while under investigation for his role in the scandal surrounding the Daejang-dong development, where small investment companies were able to reap outsized profits from relatively minor stakes in the project.

Though Lee is both a frontrunner in the next presidential election and a sitting lawmaker, he could be deprived of his legislative seat and perch at the top of the DP’s hierarchy if he is convicted of lying on the campaign trail and handed a fine exceeding 1 million won ($710) or a prison sentence.

Such a ruling would also bar Lee from running in elections for the next five years, effectively ending his status as his party’s flagbearer.

In comments to the JoongAng Ilbo, a former DP lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Lee’s position “would become precarious” even if he appealed a guilty ruling all the way to the Supreme Court.

However, a guilty ruling against Lee that imposes a fine under 1 million won would likely engender more political conflict as it would allow the conservative People Power Party (PPP) to continue its characterization of Lee as a criminal while he remains politically active.

By contrast, the DP would be able to argue that the minor penalty shows the court does not view Lee’s statements with enough opprobrium to end his political career.

Although Lee was previously found guilty of violating election laws in 2011 during his first term as mayor of Seongnam, he was handed a fine of just 500,000 won, allowing him to carry on with little consequence.

If found innocent of the charges entirely, the PPP and government could find themselves in hot water for being assured of the DP leader’s guilt.

A PPP lawmaker who spoke to the JoongAng Ilbo on condition of anonymity said that a ruling that declares Lee innocent would make it “difficult for the PPP and Yoon Suk Yeol administration to evade political responsibility.”

The lawmaker added that PPP leader Han Dong-hoon will also likely “find himself in an awkward position” after having tried to mend fences with the president to focus their energies against the DP-led liberal bloc.

Political observers also believe that the DP could even face less opposition from the PPP regarding its calls for a special counsel probe into first lady Kim Keon Hee if Lee is found innocent by the court.

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