South Korea's largest opposition party leader acquitted - local media says ”one judicial risk overcome”

On the 25th of this month, the Seoul Central District Court indicted Lee Jae-myung, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, on charges of instigating perjury for allegedly having a person involved give false testimony in a criminal trial involving a defendant.
The ruling came after the ruling that Lee was acquitted of the charges against him. Lee is seen as a leading opposition candidate in the 2027 presidential election. However, there are five trials currently underway against Lee, and on the 15th of this month,
He was sentenced to one year in prison with two years of probation for violating the Public Offices Election Act. If the ruling is finalized by the Supreme Court, he will not be able to run for office. This is the first time he has been found not guilty in five trials.
The South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported that Lee had "overcome one of the legal risks." In February 2019, Lee was accused of having falsely testified to a witness in his own trial for violating the Public Offices Election Act.
In October of last year, he was indicted on charges of instigating perjury. At the sentencing hearing on the 25th, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted him, saying that based on the evidence submitted by the prosecution alone, it was difficult to see that Lee had "incited perjury."
Meanwhile, the people who were indicted on charges of perjury at Lee's request were given a fine of 5 million won (approximately 551,340 yen). The prosecution is appealing the sentence given to Lee.
After the ruling, Lee responded to a group of reporters by saying, "I'm grateful to the court for restoring truth and justice." He then quoted a four-character idiom: "So hai yi shu (a sea of water)."
Just like the proverb "Ukai no Ichizoku" (meaning something as insignificant as a grain of millet floating on the ocean), the difficulties I am facing are nothing more than a grain of millet in a vast ocean.
"I feel that the difficulties I am facing are insignificant compared to the hardships and suffering that have been caused by the current situation. I will continue to do my best to improve the lives of the Korean people," he said. He also called on the government and the ruling party to "repay these efforts."
"I want to see a political system where we coexist and walk together, rather than killing each other. I want to tell the government and the ruling party to pursue a politics that saves people's lives, rather than a politics that kills."
Lee ran for president in 2022 but lost narrowly to current President Yoon Seok-yeol. He is also seen as a leading opposition candidate in the 2027 presidential election.
However, Lee has been indicted on multiple charges, including corruption related to urban development he promoted while he was mayor of Seongnam, a suburb of Seoul. He is currently facing five criminal trials and will be indicted on the 15th of this month.
Lee was convicted of violating the Public Offices Election Act and sentenced to one year in prison with two years of probation. Lee was a candidate in the last presidential election over allegations that land in the city had been illegally changed in use in connection with urban development.
In 2021, he claimed in the National Assembly that he had done so under duress from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The district court ruled that Lee's statement was false at the sentencing hearing on the 15th of this month.
If the facts were made public, voters would be unable to make the right choice, public opinion would be distorted, and the functioning of the electoral system and the essence of representative democracy would be undermined.
"It cannot be said that he was a racist," he said, arguing that he was guilty. After the trial on the 25th, which was the first of five trials to result in an acquittal, the Democratic Party's top committee members held a meeting.
According to sources, after the meeting, the party's chief spokesman, Cho Seung-rye, said, "These were unreasonable and unjust charges. Never before in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea has a presidential candidate (or a person considered to be a presidential candidate) been so severely oppressed."
There was no government. I want President Yoon Seok-yeol to stop the oppressive investigations against the opposition party and return politics to the former system."
Meanwhile, Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the ruling People Power Party, posted on his social media the same day.
"It is difficult to accept the decision that only the person who perjured himself is guilty and the person who encouraged him to perjure himself is innocent," he said, while also stating that Lee was found guilty in the first trial on the 15th of this month for violating the Public Offices Election Act.
In relation to this, he posted, "Just as I respected the verdict on November 15th, I will respect today's verdict as well. I hope that the Democratic Party of Korea will also respect the guilty verdict on the 15th."
As mentioned above, Lee is considered a leading opposition candidate in the 2027 presidential election. On the 15th, he was found guilty of violating the Public Offices Election Act.
Lee plans to appeal the ruling, but if the ruling is finalized, he will not be able to run in the next presidential election. However, he was found not guilty of instigating perjury in a trial on the 25th, and the South Korean government has
The South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported that the ruling on the 25th was a "relief of the burden of legal risk to some extent."
Regarding the atmosphere within the Democratic Party, he said, "The pro-Lee Jae-myung faction (close to Lee) is in a mood to tighten the reins again in the fight against the ruling party, which was thrown into disarray by Lee's trial."
The Democratic Party and other opposition parties are coming in to harshly criticize the president over allegations surrounding his wife. The Hankyoreh predicts that the party will "press even harder on the president and the ruling party, who are already on the defensive."
While indicating his intention, the paper predicted that "Separate from the party, Chairman Lee is likely to move away from 'one-sided struggle' and place emphasis on 'improving people's livelihoods'."
With the appeal court ruling on the Public Offices Election Act due to occur as early as next spring, there is no reason for the government to be exposed to unnecessary criticism of 'pressure on the court.'"