Appeals court to hold 1st hearing of DP presidential candidate’s retrial on May 15

An appellate court will hold the first hearing of a retrial in an election law violation case involving Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on May 15, just weeks before the June election.

The Seoul High Court set the date just one day after the Supreme Court struck down the lower court’s acquittal of Lee on charges of election law violation in March and remanded the case for a retrial.

The Supreme Court ruled that Lee should be retried on allegations of making false statements during the 2022 presidential campaign and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court.

The top court’s ruling comes just over a month ahead of the June 3 presidential election, a timeline observers say reflects the urgency of resolving legal uncertainties surrounding Lee’s candidacy.

Lee is currently seen as a leading contender in the upcoming election, holding a significant lead in recent opinion polls.

If Lee is fined more than 1 million won (US$710), he would be stripped of his parliamentary seat and barred from running for office over the next five years.

The appeals court said it has requested a court official to directly deliver a summons to Lee to attend the hearing.

If Lee does not appear at the hearing, the court would need to reschedule the trial, making it unlikely that a verdict will be delivered before June 3.

Even if Lee is sentenced before the election, he would likely appeal it, which would enable him to run in the race.

There is currently no clear rule on whether a criminal trial in progress may continue if the indicted individual is later elected president.

Earlier in the day, the DP proposed a bill that suspends an ongoing criminal trial for a president-elect, which is seen as a move to mitigate legal risks surrounding Lee.

Meanwhile, the DP intensified its criticism of the Supreme Court’s decision, calling it a clear intervention in the election.

“We will not stand by if the judiciary again attempts to interfere in the presidential election through a hasty and politically motivated ruling,” Rep. Cho Seung-rae, the DP’s senior spokesperson, said.