Top court overturns acquittal in Lee Jae-myung’s election law violation case

Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks to reporters at a restaurant in Seoul, Thursday, on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a lower court decision to acquit him of election law violation charges. Joint Press Corps

The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned an appellate court’s decision to acquit Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of his election law violation charges, sending the case back to the high court for a retrial.

The ruling does not immediately disqualify Lee as a candidate in the upcoming June 3 presidential election, as the retrial verdict is unlikely to be reached before Election Day. However, the Supreme Court’s ruling — which found that the appellate court misinterpreted parts of the law, effectively implying Lee’s guilt on some charges — is expected to reignite political debate over his suitability as a candidate, with less than five weeks remaining before the election.

Under the relevant law, anyone fined 1 million won ($699.30) or more for violating the nation's election law is barred from running for public office for the next five years or up to 10 years if sentenced to imprisonment.

The case centers on two controversial remarks made by Lee during his previous presidential campaign in 2021. Prosecutors charged him with violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly making false statements regarding land development projects in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which took place while he was mayor of the city.

In a 2021 television interview, Lee claimed he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, a senior official involved in one of the projects. Regarding a photo showing him and Kim together during an overseas golf trip, he said the image had been cropped to make it appear as though they were close, when in fact, Kim was just one of dozens of people on the trip. In a separate remark during a parliamentary audit, Lee said that the land ministry had “pressured” the city government into granting a permit for another project in Baekhyeon-dong.

Citizens watch a live broadcast of the Supreme Court verdict on the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's election law violation case at Seoul Station, Thursday. The court overturned an appellate court decision to acquit Lee's charges, sending the case back to the high court for a retrial. Yonhap

The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty in November 2024, sentencing him to one year in prison with a two-year suspended term — a ruling that would have stripped him of his political candidacy rights for 10 years. However, the Seoul High Court overturned the decision in March, saying Lee’s remarks were expressions of opinion or perception, not deliberately false claims.

But the Supreme Court found that Lee’s remarks about the golf trip with Kim and alleged pressure from the ministry constituted false factual statements likely to mislead voters, and thus went beyond freedom of expression.

The court said Lee’s comment about the cropped photo could mislead voters into believing that he had never played golf with Kim. "But he played golf with Kim during the overseas trip, so his remark is a false statement about his act," the court said in the ruling.

The court also concluded that there was no evidence the land ministry had pressured city officials over zoning and that the city government had rezoned the site of its own volition.

"Lee's remarks were statements about facts in the past, which can be proven by evidence," it said. "It is not just exaggeration or expression of vague opinion."

Of the court's 12 judges, 10 agreed with the decision, it said.

After the verdict, Lee said, "It was totally different from what I thought ... The most important thing is what the people want. I will follow that."

The Supreme Court’s expedited handling of the case — issuing a verdict just 34 days after receiving the appeal — drew attention from both sides of the political aisle. Critics accused the judiciary of politicization, while others argued that the court was acting responsibly given the urgency ahead of the June 3 vote.

Lee faces several other ongoing trials, including alleged bribery, perjury, illegal remittances to North Korea and misuse of a corporate credit card during his term as Gyeonggi provincial governor. None of these is expected to conclude before the presidential election.