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| Independent lawmaker Lee Sang-jik / Yonhap |
Independent lawmaker Lee Sang-jik was stripped of his National Assembly seat Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld a suspended prison sentence imposed on him by lower courts for election law violations.
The top court confirmed district and appellate courts' sentence of a suspended prison sentence of 16 months for Lee, who was formerly affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), on several counts of Public Official Election Act violations.
Lee was charged with offering traditional liquor and books worth 26 million won ($21,711) as gifts to 377 voters in his constituency in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, on three occasions in 2019. He was also accused of sending text messages to party members in an attempt to influence the party primaries for the 2020 National Assembly elections in his favor.
A lawmaker loses their seat if they are given a confirmed prison term or a fine of more than 1 million won for violating election and political funding laws.
The 59-year-old Lee, also known as the founder of Korean budget carrier Eastar Jet, left the DPK in September 2020 amid controversy over unpaid wages, mass layoffs and corruption allegations surrounding his company and family.
He is currently serving a six-year prison term after being convicted by a Jeonju district court in January this year for embezzlement of company funds and breach of trust involving Eastar Jet. (Yonhap)
