South Korean opposition leader convicted for violating election law

Lee Jae-myung says he will appeal the court’s decision, which could bar him from running for president in 2027.

South Korea’s main opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, has been convicted on charges of violating the country’s election law and handed a one-year suspended prison sentence.

The Seoul Central District Court on Friday found the leader of the Democratic Party (DP) guilty of making false statements before the 2022 presidential election in violation of the Public Official Election Act.

If upheld, the ruling will strip Lee of his parliamentary seat and bar him from running in the next presidential election in 2027, as the law prohibits him from running for public office for the next five years.

Lee said after the hearing that he would appeal the court’s decision.

“I will be appealing. Beginning with the basic facts, it is a conclusion that is difficult to accept,” he told reporters.

“There are still two more courts left in the real world, and the courts of public opinion and history are eternal,” he said, apparently referring to plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Lee’s supporters and critics occupied separate streets near the court, shouting opposing slogans and holding signs that said “Lee Jae-myung is innocent” and “Arrest Lee Jae-myung”.

Lee, who narrowly lost to President Yoon Suk-yeol in the 2022 election, faces at least four trials after being indicted on several criminal charges including bribery and corruption. Yoon is also facing a string of controversies, including allegations of influence-peddling alongside his wife.

In the ruling on Friday, the court found that Lee breached election law by making false statements as a presidential candidate in 2021 that he was not acquainted with a city official who was in charge of a development project.

The official in question was the late Kim Moon-ki, a former executive of Seongnam Development Corporation, which was behind a corruption-ridden development project in Seongnam, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Lee was also accused of making a false claim during a parliamentary audit in 2021 about a land development project in Seongnam where he served as mayor.

Lee was the mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018 before becoming governor of Gyeonggi province and a member of parliament.

Lee, who is widely expected to run in the 2027 election, survived a knife attack in January when he was stabbed in the neck by a man during an event and underwent surgery.

His party secured a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in April, dealing a blow to Yoon and his governing party.

Lee, who faces another sentencing hearing over perjury charges later this month, and his party have accused prosecutors of pursuing a politically motivated case against him.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies