Lee Jae-myung Requests Public Hearing at Supreme Court... "Need to Hear Opinions from All Walks of Life"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act and sentenced to a disqualification penalty in the appellate court, has requested a public hearing at the Supreme Court ahead of the final ruling.

According to the legal community on the 25th, Lee’s attorney, Lawyer Na Seung-cheol, submitted a request for a public hearing to the Supreme Court’s 2nd Division (Presiding Justice No Jeong-hee) on the 22nd.

Lee’s side emphasized in the application that "this case requires hearing opinions from various sectors not only on constitutional and legal issues but also on changes in social values and the resulting social consensus."

A public hearing is a procedure in which the Supreme Court listens to opinions from experts or witnesses in relevant fields when the case under review involves major issues directly related to social value judgments. Article 390 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulates that "if necessary, a hearing may be held to hear statements from witnesses."

Previously, Lee was indicted on charges of abuse of authority and violation of the Public Official Election Act. In last year’s appellate court, he was found guilty of false statement publication related to the "forced hospitalization of his elder brother," which is a violation of the election law, and was sentenced to a fine of 3 million won, a penalty that results in disqualification.

Lee’s side filed an appeal, and in November last year, submitted a request for a constitutional review to the Supreme Court, arguing that the definitions of the terms "act" and "publication" in Article 250, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act (false statement publication) are ambiguous and unconstitutional.

The schedule for the Supreme Court’s ruling on Lee’s appeal has passed the statutory deadline for ruling under the election law (December 5 of last year). The Supreme Court’s 2nd Division began legal review in November last year and started discussions on the issues on April 13 this year, but has not yet decided whether to accept the constitutional review request or set a ruling date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.