Lee Jae-myung's case involving false information is being reviewed by the South Korean Supreme Court.

[ Li Jae-myung Caught in a Bind? Unable to Run for President? ]

At 3:00 PM on the 1st, the Supreme Court of Korea made its final ruling on the case where Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea, was accused of violating the Public Official Election Act. The court overturned the second-instance not guilty verdict and returned the case to the Seoul High Court for retrial. Lee Jae-myung did not attend, and the entire trial process was broadcast live on television.

Cheo Hee-dae, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, stated that Lee Jae-myung's remarks at Bae-hyeon-dong violated the Public Official Election Act, as they were considered dissemination of false information. Due to the Seoul High Court being bound by this judgment and required to convict, it is expected that the second instance will impose a new sentence.

The prosecution accused Lee Jae-myung, when he appeared on a program in 2021 as a presidential candidate, of claiming not to know Kim (deceased), a key figure in the Da-jang-dong real estate development scandal in Seongnam City. During his attendance at the national inspection, he claimed that the land use change of the Korea Food Research Institute's plot in Bae-hyeon-dong, Seongnam City, was threatened by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, allegedly disseminating false information.

Last November, the first-instance court determined that Lee Jae-myung's remarks constituted the dissemination of false information and sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended for two years. In March this year, the second-instance court ruled that the remarks did not constitute the dissemination of false information, overturning the first-instance not guilty verdict. The prosecution appealed. After the Supreme Court accepted the case on March 28th, due to the high public attention and issues regarding Lee Jae-myung's electoral rights as a leading presidential candidate, it broke with precedent to expedite the trial.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830911905348619/

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