South Korean prosecutors seek two-year prison sentence for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung

South Korean prosecutors have sought a two-year prison sentence for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is on trial for spreading false information about the 20th presidential election.
At the closing hearing for Lee's violation of the Public Offices Election Act, held at the 34th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, the prosecution said, "I was just trying to win the election.
"This is a very serious case of repeatedly lying to the entire nation," and the prosecution sought a two-year prison sentence for Lee.
Considering that the number of lies was only 0.7%, the lies influenced voters' choices." He added, "There is absolutely no reason to reduce the sentence, only reason to increase the sentence."
During a parliamentary audit in October 2021, Lee said about the change in the zoning of the Korea Food Research Institute in Baekhyun-dong, "At the time, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requested a change in zoning, and if that was not met, I would have to resign from my duties.
Then, in December of the same year, after suspicions of corruption in the Daejang-dong development grew, the late Kim Moon-gi, head of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation's Development Office No. 1,
He has filed four lawsuits against the mayor, stating, "When I was serving as Seongnam mayor, I was a low-ranking official and did not know about it. I found out about it during the trial after I was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018."
The prosecution determined that Lee's statements were the dissemination of false facts and indicted him in September 2022. The prosecution said that Kim and Lee were involved in the remodeling business activities in Seongnam City in 2009.
Since then, they have become close friends, and as a key practitioner of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, they have fulfilled Lee's core pledges and maintained a continuous relationship. The change in the zoning of Baekhyun-dong was decided directly by Lee.
Despite that, the prosecution found that the defendant lied and said, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism forced us to change the plan." The prosecution said, "The defendant repeatedly lied to the entire nation through a highly popular and trustworthy broadcasting program.
"They also presented false documents that they had prepared in advance and actively lied, turning the National Assembly audit hall, which monitors national affairs, into a 'place of lies.'"
He added, "The law must be applied equally and according to the principle depending on the seriousness of the case and the nature of the crime.
If the standards for application of the Public Offices Election Act were to change depending on the accused's status or political situation, the purpose of the law, which is to realize democracy, would be lost.
"Those who do this must be severely punished," he stressed.